Wings Of The Past
by ArowaRimu
Summary: They say you are what you are, shaped by what happened to you, a story to call your own. This is the story that changed my life. The pain that lingered on, the scar that remained, the lesson learned. My name is Kiera De Luca, and this, is my story..
1. Chapter 1: A New Day

**Author's Note:**

**The start of a whole new story! An event that occured in the 'The Boy, The Fang and The Gun' Series! For a better explanation, it'll be like movie, a special arc that isn't needed to be read to continue the main story, but it expands on the universe itself.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: A New Day.<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

**Venice, Italy**

"_Our word binds us. We always go by our words." Papa said that to me once, it was the first time I ever heard the phrase. Papa said that those words are the code of my family, the De Luca family. Back then, I didn't know what it meant. It seemed really easy back then, I didn't have to worry so much. There was no trouble, no fear, just me thinking of what new things each new day brings to my life. There was only the joy of discovery with each passing day. Though now slowly recovering thanks to Lord Amato's efforts, the scars on my wings of the past throbs and lingers..._

"Um.. Should I..?" I wondered as I stood in front of Big Brother's sound of his alarm clack was still going off, and it's only a matter of time before the neighbors come knocking on our door. Still, can I really barge into his room like that? He could be changing... At that thought, I could feel my cheeks blushing a bit from embarassment. As I stretch out my hand, thinking I should probably just knock, I find myself reluctant as I pulled it back. "Oh no! The time!" As the clock from the corridor caught my eye, I realized that we're gonna be late if my hesitation continued.

In a fit of surprise and spontaneity, I grabbed ahold of the doorknob and entered the room. "Wh-whoa!" I exclaimed as my legs did not stop even after I went past the door. "Look out!" I squeak out as I crashed onto Big Brother's bed. Immediately after I recovered, I jumped right back on my feet. The surrounding changed to one of sport trophies and metal replicas of weapons. "Um.. Sorry." I found it necessary to apologise for that little fiasco that happened, but strengely, there was no reply. Just a soft, faint sound in the sea of noise his alarm clock was making. Walking and turning the alarm off, the sound became clearer.

"Zzz... Snooz... Zzz" The faint sound would've been confusing for anyone else, But I knew what it was, and who it was coming from.

"Brother.. Big Brother! Wake up!" I called out to Big Brother as I tugged and pushed the lump wrapped in bedsheets which resembled a cocoon of sorts. At times like this, I wished big brother wasn't such a sound sleeper. He didn't even reacted one bit when I crashed right into him just now. "Fionn! We're gonna be late!" I called out once more, hoping that this time he would hear me. As I struggled with the situation, my eyes shifted to see myself reflected in a mirror, a full body mirror, which stood at the side. The reflection showed a short, cute girl with a prominent black hairband on her head, which complimented her blond hair color. A strange sight, as it wasn't used to pushed her fringe back, leaving them dangling just above her eyebrows, with her hair at shoulder-length. My round face and wide, sparkling green eyes was accompanied with a sky-blue sweater with a plain, white skirt. Does this look too boring? I find myself asking that a lot as I adjusted my attire.

"Tick. Tock. Tick." The sound of the clock ticking continues. "Ah! Oh no!" I called, frantically pulling the sheets, unknowingly pulling and making the lump fall onto the ground. "Crash!" The boom felt like it could be heard from every room in the house.

... "Uh oh."

"Ugh.. What time is it?" A calm voice can be heard from the lump that is on the floor. A head with familiar blong hair, spiky with the same three bangs, popped out from the sheets, and the boy slowly unwrapped himself like he had all the time in the world. I can't believe he didn't hear any of the screaming that I've been doing!

"Argh! Big Brother! We're going to be late!" I complained, jumping up and down on the spot before walking to the door.

"All right, all right." Fionn repled, standing up, tidying his bed and brushing off the dust from his pajyamas.

"I'll just wait for you downstairs! Breakfast is ready, all right?" I just tell it to him without looking at him. Sometimes, I wonder why I cared if he was late. The scene ends as I closed the door and left Fionn to get ready in his room.

_Back then, we were so happy. I was oblivious to how dangerous the line of work Papa was in. Each day happened a lot like that. Big brother and I were still very close back then. I think I just didn't know it yet._

The dining room was one of bright lights, finely decorated wall, and windows which showed the great blue sky. The table had a spread unlike anything I had made before. The smoke sausages were still sizzling. The fragrant smell of scrambled eggs stood in the middle, a large plate of bright, golden yellow. A variety of bread can be seen neatly arranged at the side of the table. The second largest dish to take the stage is the spaghetti, lightly marinated by the succulent sauce and beautifully littered with meatballs.

"Is your brother coming down?" A strong looking man with wide shoulders sounded off with his low, deep voice. His blond hair, short yet spiky, remained laid down as he sipped his coffee.

"He's coming down soon, Papa." I replied, chomping down on a meatball from my plate of spaghetti. He better, the food's gonna get cold.

"He better, the food's gonna get cold." Papa gave out as he had a bite of the scrambled eggs. Haha, same thoughts, I guess.

Fionn walked in dancing and turning as he sat down on his seat, as active as ever. He's always quick on his feet, and precise in his hands. At his seat, he took a great, big breath. "Awesome spread! This looks better than ever, Dad!" In one fell swoop, he picked up a good portion of sauges, eggs, bread and spaghetti, with the meatballs.

"This wasn't done by me, not today." Papa continued, finishing his coffee, and pouring yet another cup. With the coffe pitcher in hand, he pointed at me.

"Wow! You're gonna be great wife someday!" I blushed at hs comment, but felt the need to reply nonetheless.

"Not if I have to wake you up everyday to make sure you don't get late, Fionn." I think I saw Big Brother's eyes shift and stare outside the window.

"I guess you're right. Sorry..." He turned and nodded, looking apologetic. Then, we burst out laughing.

"Kiera, Fionn, come home straight from school today. She's coming home." Papa tells us with a soft, delicate tone, even for his voice. The words brought a smile to our faces.

"Right! Okay!" Big Brother and I replied almost at the same time.

"Hey! you ready?" I could hear big brother's call as I tied my shoes by the steps. He was already outside the gates. He stood with his backpack on his back, with a simple dress shirt and pants, athough it seems he's not doing so well waiting. Adjusting my hairband, I finished up, grabbed my bag, and ran towards the gates. "C'mon, you said we're gonna be late, right?" Big Brother say out with a smile as he already started walking.

"I had to do the dishes! Yours too, you know?" I replied, footsteps ringning as I bounced to catch up with him.

"Crash!" Suddenly, I find myself on the stone-floor, my head spinning.

"Whoa! What happened?" Big Brother immediately ran to my side after hearing the crash.

"I.. slipped on a banana peel." I slowly muttered out as Fionn helped me up.

"C'mon, now we're really going to be late!" Big Brother declared, pulling me along by my wrist.

"Hey! Slow down a bit!" I cried out, smiling as I quickened my steps.

_It was so bright, how each day was back then. I would've never had predicted what would've happened. As you heard, I'm not exactly the same back then. I heard Big Brother said that I'm way more bubbly back then. Papa even said he misses my smile. The event that is to happen changed everything, my lifestyle, my personality, my family. It shooked our very way of life. Now that I think back, I don't know how life would be now if I remained the same._

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><p><strong>The end of the first chapter for the side-story! I hope through this story, you guys can know more about Kiera, and maybe get to like her more, if you don't like her already. I hope the feelings don't come off as too unrealistic as well. Chapters will come updated at the same time as the main story, and I hope you enjoyed reading this!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Lunchtime Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

**You know, guys? In the initial planning of the story, this arc never existed, but I guess I'm glad I'm able to write out a back-story like this. It feel fresh, fun and unique. I just hope it doesn't disappoint! Second chapter, coming right up!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Lunchtime Dilemma<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_School back then was.. well, eventful. I can say with confidence that not everyone got along with me in elementary. Naivety was my problem. Kind-hearted and forgiving, I brushed it off when people bullied me, and did not feel any ill content towards those who did, even when it really hurt. Perhaps it was those events that helped shaped the personality I have today, I cannot say for certain. Still, I knew deep down that I was doing the right thing back then, and to this day, I try to remember the qualities I held so close to my heart from way back then._

I walked down the cafeteria as I searched for a place to sit, and, as usual, no group welcomed me to their side until the last table. As long as I could remember, things has always been like this. I never could figure out why I was treated like this by everyone. Sure, I may be a klutz, but I never hurt anyone, ever. As I saw their faces, those of indifference as they looked to the side, the memories came into my mind. There was that one time when I knocked down most of the science experiments in the science fair. Or that time when I tried to play dodgeball and struck the fire alarm instead, setting off the sprinklers and drenching everyone and everything in water.

"Sigh..." I sat down at the side as I look down at the floor, putting my bag at my side. I guess I was spacing out, thinking hard on the memories that came into my mind. I.. guess I should earn my place in their hearts first.

"Oh boy, she's at it again." A familiar voice began talking to me.

"K-kiera? You okay?" Another voice meekly calls out to me, sounding really concerned. Those words were all it took to perk me back up.

"Viela, Neil... I'm fine." I gave my reply, looking up at my two best friends.

_... The memories of them are still there in my mind, you understand? Viela Russo. She was a shy, meek girl, who was the embodiment of honesty. Never will she lie, and sometimes it even pushes her to do thing you wouldn't expect. Because of her red hair, she was quite ostracized by the other students. That didn't stop her from helping me out when I fell into a public pool once. She's almost always present with a cute, light-colored dress. Neil... Neil Kelly was a hero of justice, that's what he always declared. He was very active, running around the school so much it was as if the dark streaks of his hair flashed across our grade everyday. He would stand up to the students who was doing wrong, and not punish them, but teach them why it was wrong. I recall him taking it upon himself to protect the two of us, and naturally, the three of us became best friends._

"I wonder what Big Brother's doing right now?" I wondered as I stared out the window, the summer sun strangely faint in its yellow rays today.

"Kiera? Kiera, you're missing lunch again." Neil called me back as he chomped down on a sandwich, sitting across the table.

"Um.. Don't worry, Kiera... You don't need to change yourself for their sake.." Viela says it as though she read my thoughts, giving off her signature pausing in-between each word or sentence while biting down an apple. As my eyes turn to them, I could see worry in their eyes. Even Neil, with his gung ho attitude and all, was worried.

"Sorry." I gave out softly, showing a soft smile on my face. "Right, I'm just over-thinking stuff!" I say it out to myself, shaking my head from side to side.

"Did.. you forget to buy lunch, Kiera?" Neil asks out with curious eyes when he spotted no food in front of me.

"No. I brought my lunch-box!" I replied happily as I remembered, and began digging into my bag. However, two clinks caused me to raise a brow. Amidst my notes and books, there lies two metallic lunch boxes in my bag. "Eh?" I find myself saying out in surprise. Viela and Neil only got confused at my reaction.

"Wh- what's wrong?" Viela asks with her usual soft voice.

"...This is Fionn's lunchbox."

_Before I knew it, the situation exploded. I think.. it was mainly my fault back then. Everyone had their sights on our table then, but we didn't give a thought, or maybe it was just me. I was too focused on what was happening, what I wanted to do. And.. Neil and Viela was against it._

"We have to get this to Fionn!" I cried out, eyes closed as I raised the lunchbox above my head. It was a simple, ornate designed lunchbox, which shares the same design as mine. We got it together before school started. Covered with stickers my brother got himself, the stickers are the only thing that differentiates the boxes. Neil and Viela was holding me down, struggling to dissuade me from that decision.

"I told you, we can't do that!" Neil's voiced boomed out as his words clash with mine.

"O-our school has got two c-cafeterias! On-one's for us year twos, as well as year ones and threes, but the other's for the seniors!" Viela cried out as well, looking as if she was losing her grip on me. In fact, they both look like they were losing their grip.

"But! Big Brother didn't get any allowance for today! He's gonna starve!" I explained, while frantically packing my stuff into my bag, already preparing to go.

"I'm pretty sure he can go one lunch break without having anything!" Neil cried out.

"I don't care! I'm still going!" I say it out with fervor that no one expects, standing up from my seat with my bag in hand. Neil and Viela by then had collapse on the table from the last struggle. Catching his breath, Neil finally relented.

"All right, all right. Just let us finish our lunch first." Viela was too tired to say anything. I guess I'll have to apologize to them later.

"Okay, we all ready?" Neil asks out as we gathered in front of the door into the seniors' hallway, which will lead us to the seniors' cafeteria as well.

"Ready!" I exclaimed, determined to return the box to my brother.

"...Ready." Viela gave out softly, with a reluctant tone. My friends had worried eyes as we walked throught the door.

Meanwhile, in the senior's cafeteria, the sunlight of summer was beating into the hall through the windows, resulting in an impressive array of lights beams and shadows cast all around the hall. Unlike the juniors' cafeteria, the seniors has the priviledge of having a more open hall, with the doors wide open, the wind always blowing through, giving the cafeteria an ever-present cool breeze. But, at a time like this, the start of summer, it has, in fact, backfired. Because the lunchbreak has already gone for a while now, most of the students had already left the cafeteria for the more breezy spots at the higher levels of the school. In the empty seats of the last table nearest to the open doorway, Fionn laid on the table, sweating and groaning.

"Kiera..." He whined, the tone of his weak voice suggesting the scale of his hunger. A couple of growls from his stomach can also be heard as loud as any sound in the cafeteria. "Next time, I'm buying my own lunch!" Fionn roared out with sudden ferocity. "Gurgh.." And yet, the growl from his stomach forced him back down.

_Ha ha, Big Brother actually told me how much he suffered that day. In fact, he kept it a point to remind me of his desperate situation whenever the thought of food comes to his mind. His conversations of food would somehow shift to one of hunger and then to poverty, before being completely intergrated to his recollection. School was not easy back then, but I cannot say I did not have times when I enjoyed myself. Big Brother as well as my two best friends were always there, smiling. Even if the other students ignored me, detested me, as long as I know Big Brother and my friends was close, I could take on anything the others threw at me._

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><p><strong>The end of chapter two, with the story progressing along. I wonder if the protrayal of school was acceptable? School life in Singapore is quite different, so I cannot say this is something I went through myself. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and learned a thing or two about my characters!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Gift

**Author's Note:**

**If you guys haven't figured it out, the main focus in this story, this arc, is Kiera, and her past. Of course, I figured, no one is born with immense skill and power, and if one has them, he or she probably earned them through training, still no teenager would've earned them like Kiera even if they do train. So something must've happened to force Kiera to grow so much in terms of power, and this story will tell just that.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Gift.<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_Strange, reminiscing about my past feels... gentle, welcoming, even if those memories weren't exactly flashes of joy and happiness. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to disclose this story. Perhaps I was wrong. I can say it is fortunate that I didn't forget about such memories, no matter how painful they feel. They keep the lessons learned clear in my mind, and the pain is lessened as I reminded myself of the values it taught me. Perhaps I would have been happier without such events, but without such occurrences, I wonder... can you really say that person is me?_

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!" One of the seniors roared out as he charged. His arms was flailing about randomly, and in his path was one person. My Big Brother. He was surrounded, the small corridor only made smaller by the few other guys blocking him, trying to pin him to one area. I was sitting a few feet away, my body touching the cold, concrete floor, eyes wide open at what was happening. A few inches from the scene, was Fionn's lunchbox, turned upside-down, the lid and the The guy wore a t-shirt and long pants, a white and red t-shirt with strips here and there for design. Except it wasn't design, it was pasta. And the red color of his shirt? ... The sauce I made this morning.

In a lightning, fast instant, Big Brother sidestepped with speed one could barely follow with his or her eyes. The senior then found himself disoriented from the stunt, probably too confused to even control his actions. "Crash! The sound was loud, breaking the calm and disturbing into the peaceful nature of the hallway. The guy had smashed, face-first into one of the metal lockers built into the walls of the hallway. All the while, Brother had this bored look on his face, with his eyebrows furrowed, looking like he was very annoyed.

"Oh man, I can't believe that happened!" Neil cried out, his eyes still glued on the mayhem. The other guys had already began pouncing on my brother. Viela was by my side, tugging on my right arm, her eyes shut because she was afraid.

As I heard those words, the chain of events that led to this fight began flashing across my mind. I didn't know if I was afraid, confused, or just worried for Brother, but the images came as clear as any memory. The moment we stepped into the hall, it felt like we had just entered a jungle. Few eyes recognized as at first, but soon, everyone was staring. I didn't know why but I guessed our height kinda gave it away. We.. weren't supposed to be in the Seniors' hallway. I walked, with by friends by my side. Neil put on a brave look, but I could see a hint of worry in his eyes. Viela kept looking down at the floor as we took our steps. In my hands was Fionn's lunchbox. I find myself gripping harder at the metal casing as we walked. Maybe we were just paranoid. After all, we're their cute, little juniors, they wouldn't hurt us, right?

Oh how we were wrong.

_I did not find out the true reason, but probability pointed to this: some of my 'accidents' must have caused some of the seniors much dismay. Though difficult to believe, you may be surprised to hear that even twelve year olds can be quite... vicious._

"Ugh... Let's just get this thing done, the stares are piercing right through me..." Neil gave out, trying his best to sound brave as he walked by my side.

"Y-yeah..." The first word Viela spoke ever since we walked into the hall. Out of nowhere, a foot stuck out from one of the seniors. I tripped, flinging the lunchbox into the air while bringing down Neil and Viela with me.

"Ow!" "Ouch!" "Eyah!" Different sounds came from each of us, none of them pleasant. Laughter exploded from the seniors. But, maybe they didn't see the item being launched into the air, or they were just too distracted. The metal container flew, like a comet streaking across the sky, before exploding like a bomb, splashing pasta, sauce and cheese all over this one guy.

Suddenly, everyone went quiet.

"Uh oh..." I whispered. I didn't know which was worse, that this guy is probably furious at me, or that I just ruined any chance of lunch for Fionn. Silence flew by us for a few seconds before the the guy blew up.

"Y-you! You're gonna pay for this!" He roared out, face beet-red with anger.

"Ah!" I probably screamed that word a couple more times than I remembered, as I dodged and rolled from side to side. "Come back here!" That monster roared, dripping mushroom and cheese. Neil and Viela did the same, darting to different directions.

"Oh, my stomach..." Suddenly, a voice came outta nowhere, louder than my cries or the monster's roar. Brother walked into the scene as if what was happening was a part of his everyday life. I always wondered how he could stay calm like that. He walks, rubbing his stomach, and just like that, he threw his left arm to the side, and gave the angry senior a clothesline.

Yes, that was how Big Brother entered the fight.

_That was the order of the story. Bullies, me and my brother, characters in this grand play. They would chase and howl, and I, cower with fear. Brother would come and save me everytime, that piece of memory was no different. Big Brother seemed quite famous amongst the seniors, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to use the term 'Infamous'. Atlethic and skillful, everyone who knew my brother knows how powerful he is, and how often it was to find him in the middle of a fight._

When I returned to what was happening, the fight was already settled. Big Brother stood, as usual, atop the collapsed seniors, who were either too injured, or tired to continue. In his grip, was the guy who first charged at me. "Don't ever touch my sister!" Big brother yelled out, pulling the other guy's ears close.

"Wh-what? She's your sister?" The poor guy desperately asks out, anyone could've figured out that he himself realizes he had made a grave mistake. "I-I had no idea!" He cried out once more, struggling in the hands of my brother, this time he sounded more like he was pleading.

"Say you're sorry, now! Don't make me punch you again!" Fionn threatened, pulling up his fist.

"S-sorry!" The guy finally broke out, and at the words, Big Brother released his grip. Drop to the floor, he stumbled and made a break for it, running towards his classroom. When Fionn walked to our side, I felt really happy as a smile slowly stretched across my face. It is a usual scene, but I was happy, nonetheless. "You okay, Kiera?"

"Ahem." A familiar voice cut into the conversation before I could say anything. Shifting my eyes, I saw that most of the students, the seniors crowding around before, had already disappeared. The voice came from behind us, footsteps echoing louder and louder before coming to a stop. Turning around, we saw her face. Lush, brown hair, neatly trimmed, was only complimented by her fair skin and bright eyes. She's a favourite of the students, and Big Brother's Homeroom teacher. Her calm and gentle personality made it easy for students to get along with her, and trust her.

Her name was Miss Rizzo.

"Detention?" Big Brother asked out almost automatically after seeing her. She looked slumped after seeing what happened.

"Fionn, I thought you promised? No more fights?" She says it out almost casually, speaking to her felt like talking to a friend.

"But-" I wanted to tell her the truth, that Big Brother was just protecting me, but he stopped me.

"Yes, detention." Miss Rizzo declared with a sigh as she handed the detention slip to Brother. I also saw Neil and Viela confused as they watched on.

"Don't worry, Kiera." Big Brother told me as Miss Rizzo walked down the hallway. I was left confused at what I should do now that the 'cargo' we were delivering is now a blotch on some guy's shirt and a mess on the floor. As I went to pick up Big Brother's lunchbox, or what's left of it, a loud growl came forth from Big Brother's stomach. "Sigh.. Don't worry, just get back to your class for now." Fionn told me as he patted my head , putting on a smile on his face. He must be doing it to make me feel better.

"...Your brother's still hungry, right?" Neil asks out casually as we walked back towards the door once more. "Slap!" Viela suddenly gave him a slap on his arm. "Ouch!" Neil cried out exxageratedly, only to be silenced by Viela's stern look. She must have gotten the message behind Big Brother's words.

"Sigh..." I gave out as I gave up, feeling upset at what happened, as the three of us returned to class.

_And so, I waited. I waited for Big Brother as he fulfilled his detention. I remember exactly how I felt back then. Worry, anger and a tinge of guilt. I was worried for Big Brother, who always has to be there for me, and recieved punishment because of it. Anger, at what the other students think, how they felt. Why they do those things to me. And I felt guilty for causing unwanted trouble for my friends, and Big Brother. As I sat down on the bench near the school gates, I felt like things needed to change, but I also felt afraid. Afraid of failure, of making things worse. Afraid that I might do something I might regret._

"Kiera? You okay?" Fionn appeared in front of me, looking concerened. I think I must have looked really worried. "Don't worry, detention's nothing, really." Big Brother exclaimed, his words sounding a lot like those spoken by a delinquent. He probably didn't know that he only made me feel more sad as I heard those words. Still, this wasn't the place to mope about myself.

"...We really need to get home, Big Brother.." I muttered as I tried to push away the feelings of sadness and melancholy, though my tone still seemed dispirited.

"Hold on." Brother gave out, popping between my thoughts. "Let's go visit Uncle Piero's shop." As he told me, he already begin bouncing past the gates, pulling me along. I was surprised, we promised to go straight home today, and the idea was already delayed because of Brother's detention, and now he wants to delay it even more so?

"But, did you forget? We promised!" I gave out with a yelp.

"No, I didn't forget, in fact, that's the reason why we're going to the shop now! C'mon, it's only for a few minutes!" Big Brother gave out, half-yelling, half-explaining, with his smile coming in-between. I was left confused and curious at what Big Brother was thinking, while smiling as he tugged me along.

As we walked into the particular district, the sun beat down hard as the summer heat flowed in their invisible waves. Harsh, bright sunlight was accompanied by a breath of the wind only once every few minutes. Strangely, I wasn't bothered by the heat so much, beads of sweat only occasionally dripping from my forehead. I think Big Brother actually enjoyed the heat and warmth of summer. Our footstep slowly wittled down as the shop came into view. It was one of those shops that sold a bit of everything. A favourite haunt for shoppers around the city, the shop has stock on almost every item one would need, and they also take orders and help search for products that the customer wants. The look of the shop was plain, simple. Yet, as you took a step past the door, a sea of various items, products will flood into your vision. Shelves and shelves of stuff, all neatly organized and beautifully arranged.

"Oh? Hello there, young ones!" A polite greeting came from inside the shop. Slowly, the owner of the shop walked out to greet us. He looked to be a stubby man, big in his size. He fumbled about as he adjusted his olden-style glasses and swept his hand through his whitish grey hair. "My, my. Fionn De Luca, you've certainly grown since the last I saw you! And Kiera De Luca, you're looking more cuter each year! What brings you to my little shop?" I blushed at his praise, while Fionn looked away to cover his. We've known Uncle Piero for a long time now, he feels like family.

"Today's a special occasion. We'll be needing gifts, Uncle Piero." Fionn voiced out to answer the question.

"Gifts?" I wondered at Fionn's words, but that wasn't to say I didn't like the idea. I was just surprised.

"Yeah, we haven't seen her for a while now, it seemed like a good idea for gifts, ya know?" Big Brothers says it out as he walked to the shelves, already started in his search. I felt like Iwanted to get her a gift as well, but having little ideas on what to get, I found myself tailing behind my Brother.

"Hm.. What should I get?" I find myself speaking out my thoughts as I slowly gaze upon the items stacked on the shelves. Maybe it wasn't because of myself not having a good idea on what to get, but the fact that so many various kinds of gifts available, that I change my mind everytime my eyes change sights. Knick-knacks and ornaments seemed a good idea, a number of pretty ones available at the shelf in front of me. Or maybe a dress? Still, I have no idea what size to get... After a few rounds around the store, I finally decided on a red ribbon. It was cute, yet simple enough to be matched with almost any sort of clothing. The bow looked great with it's soft color, and being a ribbon, it can be worn in a variety of ways.

"Here you are, Kiera, I'm sure whoever recieves this will be very happy." Uncle Piero said so with a smile as he handed me the gift, nicely wrapped. Looking around, I saw that Big Brother wasn't having such a swell time. He looked confused as he went round and round. "Do you need help, Big Brother?" I asked out with concern.

"Uh, no, I'm fine, uh, you could just wait for me outside, okay?" He gave out, eyes still focused at what he was doing. I find myself following his words, walking out the store and waiting by the doors.

_That was when I felt a presence. It was a sudden dizzyness, a gasp for air. Lost of balance. Whatever it was, it felt strange, out of place. But, of course, like anyone, I brushed it off. That was my mistake._

"Eh?" I voiced out, feeling a shiver down my spine. It felt as though something was very wrong. And suddenly, it was gone. "Huff...Puff.." I look around the empty streets, confused. Well, it was almost empty, except for a hooded person standing across. He, or she, stood beside a wall, motionless. It was quite a feet away, so I couldn't make out what he was wearing exactly, but even then, I could see the dark shadow masking his face, laid over by his hood. Was he looking at me? I couldn't know for sure. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. My heartbeat accelerated in the few seconds I stood, paranoid. In the light, the summer heat vanished, the sounds blocked off by the drums of my heart. I could feel beads of water, sweat, dripping down my forehead as I continued looking at the mysterious stranger.

"Kiera!" Big Brother's voice rattled my confused mind. "Are you okay? You look really pale!" A desperate tone washed over Brother's voice. I rubbed my eyes, and saw that he was standing right in front of me, his gift right in his hand. His eyes, full of concern, helped me calm down. I looked around once more, my movement wobbly from the little event. No one in sight. The street was as empty as when we came. Was it... all my imagination? Yeah, it must have been!

"Uh.. I'm fine, Big Brother." I replied after so long, pulling a smile on my face the best I could. Even I could feel the smile didn't do much to help. I don't know why, but Big Brother went quiet right after that, as we began walking home. Could it be that he didn't want to push me to answer? Or was it because of my look, so tired and weak, that he decided that we should just go home? Deciding that it was really just nothing, I pushed off and shut the fear away. As I walked down the empty street with Fionn, the heat of summer returned, making the whole stuff felt like it was but a dream.

_That person, the mysterious hooded stranger, is key to this story. Great conflicts of emotions, a torrent of feelings. ... And I cannot deny that it was not my fault. That is the worse part. There exist questions in my mind, asked by my own voice each day. Choices I had picked, decisions I had made. I wonder, as I looked into the sun at dawn each day, if I could have changed what had happened, or if it could've been avoided entirely. It made me sad at times, tired even. ...Sorry, I believe the story must continue. I believe I had but one more spark of happiness before the tragedy struck, and it would forever remain the one which I would hold in my heart in clarity, forever._

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><p><strong>Whoa! This certainly turned out way longer than I expected. I apologize if it feels straining for the eyes. As the words suggests, things are progressing for the story. Exactly what happened? Who was the mysterious stranger? Was it really nothing but a dream? Or premonition for something terrible? Well, you'll have to wait for the next update to find out!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: Heartfelt Reunion

**Author's Note:**

**You know, I always wonder how people incorporate the right feelings into their stories, how they write it out. Have they felt it before? If not, how do they they know whether it is believable or just too fantastical to be accepted? Even as I write, these questions keeps popping up...**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Heartfelt Reunion.<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_That evening was a memorable one. A memory that I never, ever want to forget. It felt so surreal, so beautiful, it almost feels like a conjured dream. The feelings of that night was like a bliss, a calm before the storm. The lights shined and flickered, making it looked almost calm and peacefull all by itself. At night, the cries of the summer insects can be heard, even though grass and trees are a small rarity in the city._

The door to our house opened to a bright and cheery setting, welcoming us with a joyful tune. It was a familiar tune, and even hearing it between our footsteps, it brought a smile to our faces. A second later, our steps were already tapping, we ourselves rushing towards the kitchen with excitement drawn all over our faces. The wind of the open windows of the main hall blew against my skin as I ran. "We're home, Papa!" I called out as I brushed past Papa, who was calmly reading a book by un-lit fireplace. I know, it was kinda rude, but I was just too happy to think about it.

"Tap. Tap. Tap." The sound was mixed with the tune as well as our small laughs. Turning my eyes, I could see Big brother just as excited.

The door to the kitchen swung open to a bright, colorful area that felt like happiness was practically overflowing out. Calmly, but with fast and precise actions, a beautiful lady was working hard with her knives and pans. She had beautiful locks of hair, tied together in a gentle, pretty cornroll style. Accessories galore, the smooth golden strands was nicely complimented by bright silver jewelry as well as a number of colorful, majestic stones. All the while, she had this soft smile on her face, followed by a gentle, refreshing tune being hummed. A delicious aroma immediately struck my nose as soon as I stepped into the kitchen.

"Mama!" I cried out, jumping to give her a hug. "You're back!" My words continue with my eyes closed, my arms wrapped around Mama's waist. It was then that realized I was still carrying my schoolbag as well as my gift.

"Welcome home, Mom!" Fionn's words then sounded off, as he gave Mama a big hug as well.

"Oh! Oh my! Kiera, Fionn, be careful! The knives!" Mama's voice gave out as she carefully put down the metal knives she was holding on the table despite our weight being forced on her. During all that though, she had this very glad look on her face, accompanied by her beautiful smile. Hearing Mama's voice after so long felt really nice. As I looked, Mama looked as pretty as ever, her green eyes so soft and pleasant. She looked really pretty in her simple dress.

_Lady Catrina De Luca. That was the name of Mama. Mama was an elegant lady. Papa even said she was the most desired woman back when they were young. She was always there with her beautiful locks of golden hair and jewelry. She was poise, and as she walked, one could feel the air of nobility coming from her. But, if one was to talk to her, she would prove to have a very kind and bubbling personality. Mama was the sort of person you could spend hours talking to, enjoying every last bit of her company. She was kind, calm, jokeful and understanding. She was nothing less of a perfect mother._

"Aww, my little babies are growing up! My little Fionny's gotten stronger, right? And my Kiera-pop's all cute and lovely now!" As soon as Mama said that, she patted us on our heads. We blushed as we got embarrassed at her words. It's been so long that I could barely remember Mama's voice, but I knew it was her as soon as I heard it. Mama's touch was gentle, her skin so soft it feels like I was embraced by the white puffs of clouds in the sky.

"Mom! Please stop calling me that!" Fionn whined while I just stood there smiling and laughing. I doubt he's really annoyed by the nickname, however. As happy as we were, we decided to give Mama our presents after dinner.

As we were having dinner, I found myself looking at Mama as I chewed down on my pasta. Dinner in the De Luca household has always been quiet. Yes, I think it goes the same with all our meals. I think it has something to do with the fact that it's kinda rude to talk while we eat, or do anything for that matter. That's why we try our best not to talk or let ourselves be distracted during our meals. Often, I take this time to reflect on myself, as well as what happened that day. Today, I find myself admiring how beautiful Mama is, as well as how rarely we get to see her. Papa said it's because of her job that requires her to leave us. I don't know if that is exactly true, but I trust Papa's words. I think the little chance we get to see her actually made us appreciate her more...

Haha! I feel like an elderly, I should probably act my age, I'm only eight! At the thought, I mind myself closing my eyes and shaking my head.

"Oh! Look, this was when we went to the aquarium last summer!" I say out with excitement as I showed the picture of me, Big Brother and Papa to Mama. The two of us was sitting in our sofa in the main hall. I sat beside Mama, snuggling close to her. In my hands was all the pictures, the memories we had over the last two years. "This one was when I had that field trip to the farm!" I showed another picture to her, this one had me, Neil and Viela all hugging a sheep together.

"Aww.. You have some great friends, huh?" Mama said to me as she looks intently at the picture. You might wonder where Big Brotehr was, well, he was leaning by the side of the wall beside us.

"Big Brother, are you sure you don't want to take a seat beside us?" I find myself repeating the same question I asked a few minutes ago.

"I told you, I'm fine like this!" He replied, almost looking flustered. All the while, he was fidgiting with the wrapped up gift he had in his hand. I know what Big Brother was feeling. He says it's okay but he really wants to spend time with Mama like this. He probably just feels too cool to do that. Yep, I can read his face like a book. And he's probably wondering how he should give Mama the gift, too!

"Oh, we have something for you, Mama!" I suddenly say out, getting up from my seat, walking toward Big Brother and pulling him along. Grabbing my gift, which I placed nearby, I presented it to Mama, together with Big Brother's. Of course, Big Brother was surprised, but he didn't pull away.

"Yeah.. It's to welcome you home." Big Brother replied, stuttering at his words.

"Kiera, Fionn, thank you very much!" Mama gave out with a smile, though I could see her eyes getting teary. As she received her gifts, she pulled us closer for a big hug. Papa walked into the main hall as well, after having done the dishes, and the sight stretched a smile across his face. As I touched Mama, I could feel her soft skin, hear her heartbeat, her breath. She was afraid, or maybe just sad? From the touch of her soft skin, I could feel her shiver slightly as she hugged.

"I'm.. sorry.." She suddenly say out under her breath. "Kiera! Fionn! I'm sorry I wasn't there for you guys!" By this time, her tears were already flowing, but it was a happy kind of crying.

"No!" Big Brother immediately cried back. "You're the best Mom in the world!" He cried out once more, his face looking like he wanted to cry as well, but he hold his tears back.

"Yeah! Mama's the best!" I added almost automatically. I wasn't as strong as Big Brother, as my tears started flowing down my face.

After a few minutes, Mama calmed down and opened our gifts. The two boxes opened to a pretty little ribbon and a nice-looking ring. Big Brother's gift, the ring, had a big 'CDL' engraved on it. I think it's supposed to be Mama's name. Slowly, Mama put on the gifts she received, and we were very happy to see that she did. Papa took the opportunity to sneak away and come back with a camera. Together, the four us smiled for a complete family photo. At that time, when the camera flashed and clicked, I was so happy. It felt like we were a normal, happy family. I wished the moment would last forever. And I suppose it did, that's what the picture was. The happy memory, frozen in time.

_Sniff... Sniff... Sniff... No, don't worry. I'm fine. I know, I understood. What happened cannot be changed. There is little point in dwelling in the past. I learned from that tragedy, and moved on. But... Everytime I look back at that particular moment, everytime I take a look at that one picture, I would feel warm, wet tears fall from my face. The moment of joy, of happiness, would forever remain in my heart. It has been seven years. Because of that tragedy, I was never the same, life was never the same. That picture taken would mark the last time we had a family photo..._

_At least... A complete family photo._

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><p><strong>Sniff.. Man.. I wanted it to be sad, but I never expected it to be this sad! Just exactly what happened to the De Luca Family? What is the tragedy that looms over the tale that is being told? Well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out more!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: Training Day

**Author's Note:**

**Slowly, the story is progressing through it's stages. For those who is afraid this might turn out to be as long as the main story, don't worry, it's definitely not going to be that long. Heck, it's not even gonna be a quarter the length of the main story!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Training Day.<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_Back then I would always complain about training day. We would have it three times a week, sometimes more. Papa said it was mandatory. It would always leave sore muscles and dizzy spells all over my body, throughout the duration of the remaining day. Certainly, I never looked forward to it, which normal eight year old girl would? And was I supposed to believe that the regiment that Big Brother and I had to do was just to 'keep us strong and healthy'? What I never thought about back then was that I would actually miss it. Strangely, it would remain as one of my strongest memories of spending time with my family..._

"Huh...?" I whisper out with a lazy voice as I paced slowly, taking time to make each step. I couldn't exactly make out what was happening, but I think I was walking to somewhere. The sky, the surrounding, was still dark, a soft blue hue fades into the other colors. Big Brother? I could see him walking in a few steps in front of me, as our steps continued. "Oh look, a cat..." I think I just said out my thoughts... Looking towards Big Brother, I saw he was carrying a large, black bag, which looked really bulky. "Ooh..." I whisper out once more, stumbling with my steps. I get it, I'm still half-asleep.

I feel like I could doze off at any second now... As I tried hard to remain awake as my eyelids close, a certain dream entered my mind...

I was walking down the hallway, still in my pajyamas. It was all floral and pink. There was no light coming through the windows, so I think it was after midnight. "Water.." I just sorta mutter out without thinking. Out of the dark hallway, lit by dimmed lights, I could hear voices talking.

"Are you sure you weren't followed?" It was a deep voice. Deep, but strangely familiar. I think it was Papa. He sounded stern, serious. Did something happen?

"I'm sure." Another voice replied. It sounded like Mama. What are they talking about? Curious as I was, my steps derailed from walking towards the kitchen to walking towards the main hall, where the voices came from. Even then, all I can remember is seeing the silhouettes cast on the walls.

"Fionn reported something strange going on today, and it happened to Kiera." Dad's voice was constrained, like he didn't want to say those words. I could almost see him close his eyes.

"..." I waited, but Mama didn't say anything. I think I heard her gasp, but after a long wait of silence, I decided I should probably be getting back to bed.

"I'm contacting Luciano. Be careful." As my steps take me down the hall, towards my room, I could hear Papa's voice, his words slowly drowning off. The silhouettes slowly disappeared under the dimmed yellow lights, as the sea of simple wallpaper led to the door of my room. Next thing I knew, I was in bed, cuddling in the softness of my blanket.

"Kiera, be careful. Watch your step or you might fall down!" Mama's voice quickly woke me up and her soft touch on my shoulders brought feeling back to my body. Oh right, Mama's with us today, yay! After that, she held on to my hand as we continued walking. Looking around, the streets was still empty, in fact it feels like it's devoid of life. But, it probably because it's about four in the morning. In the early summer, the days would be hot and sizzling, but when the sun's down, it was fairly cold. I even feel a shiver as a breath of wind blew against my back. Father walked slowly, pacing his way behind us. He was looking all over the place, his actions striking me as strange.

And then, we reached our destination. A secluded shoreline, I know when I heard the waves crashing and the smell of the sea entered my nose.

_Yes, it's the same area I brought Mister Sergio to, the place where his training currently takes place. According to Papa, it is a place of solitude, the perfect place for training. Papa didn't say anything about how the area came to be, but he did say that a number of my forefathers have visited the place a number of times, be it for training, or anything else. If anything, on to our generation, it was our turn to make use of it. Little did we know, our experience of going there together would come to an abrupt end._

As the wind blew through my hair, we prepared for training. With a mellow salty taste in my mouth, I watched Big Brother as I rest right after stretching. "Huff.. Puff.." I can't believe I'm already gasping for air, Big Brother never seemed tired after his stretches.

"You ready, Fionn?" Papa yells out from a distance away, his hand firmly placed on a wooden lever that seemed to be attached to a mechanism on the ground. Which was strange, considering it's all sand I see around the shoreline.

"Ready, Dad." Big Brother replies confidently, planting his feet on the ground. He looks really cool as he stood, like a hero in a story. In his hands was his weapons of choice, two large and heavy hammers. They look really simple in their design, but I think they look really nice. Despite each hammer looking larger and heavier than Big Brother, he swings them almost effortlessly, like magic! Yet, you cannot fail to widen your eyes everytime a quake booms from the ground when he puts them down.

Then the training starts. A push to the lever and the mechanism, gears and all, starts moving. Metal hit metal, and different sounds rang off. If you follow the sight of the different moving parts, your eyes will finally stop at a large net, and in it, rocks. A large number of rocks, way more than I can count, I think. Behind the net was a giant catapult, and at the release of the pieces, the net was opened, the catapult shot, and the rocks flinged towards Big Brother at high speed. "Swoosh! Zish! Shaa! Each rock cuts through the air, hissing loud enough to be heard. In that moment, I saw Big Brother tighten his grip.

And it happened, he dodged, danced and hopped. The rocks only flew by him. Twirling his body, the hammers followed suit. The large body of the hammer deflected a number of rocks away with each swing, also serving to protect Big Brother they blocked the rocks that would otherwise surely struck him. "Crack!" The smashing of rocks continued for what seemed like an hour. "Rrraaaaaaggggghhh!" I think Big Brother's habit must be kicking in. Whenever he gets too excited, he would roar out, or scream out loud. "Ha ha ha!" He continued, somewhat scaring me a bit.

But, all the while, I was amazed. Deep down, though I never really enjoyed these training sessions, I was always amazed at what Big Brother could do. He looked so strong, so agile. I wish I could do that someday. It didn't take long before Big Brother stands in the spot, and the rocks stopped flying. He stands, unscathed, his hammers by his side, I could even see some smoke sizzling from the hammer, because of the impact that occured.

"Yeah! Hooray for Big Brother!" I cried out, excited and still amazed. From the excitement, I jumped up to my feet, as if my fatigue had disappeared.

"Wow! Fionny's gotten so powerful!" Mama say out with a smile, clapping her hands and applauding Big Brother for the performance.

My turn came next. I stood in the exact same spot as Big Brother did. Wind blowing against me, the sand slowly flowing away, I stood, afraid, worried. Out of all the practices I had, I never once did it well. Feeling barely able to keep myself from being blown off balance to the wind, I treid my best to keep my hold on my weapon. A shield, as simple in the design as Big Brother's hammers. Of course, when I saw Big Brother training, I was impressed and amazed. When I had to do it myself, however, I was afraid. So when I was given the choice for my weapon, I chose the shield.

"Ready, Kiera?" Papa voiced out in a slightly concerned tone, yet, I push him with determined eyes. I know whatever it is, I gotta at least try. Practice makes perfect, right?

"Ready, Papa!" I shout out, as if trying hard to convince myself. I can feel the hard, metal handle of my shield as I gripped it harder to get rid of whatever shivering I had. All right, all those accidents, the clumsiness I always had, now is the time to change all that. Strengthening my arms and legs, I prepared myself for the rain of rocks. The same gears and metal sounded off, the machine ready to do its job. With a final click, the rocks is released. "Shhoo! Fwoosh!" The sound, as loud as they are, now serve tell me where each rock is, how fast they were flying. In my mind, an image bloomed, of a beautiful, warrior of grace, deflecting the rocks just as quick and effectively as my brother. With one giant swing of my shield, I would push a dozen rocks off their tracks. It would look to be a thrilling dance, danger and beauty combined.

It didn't actually go that way, though. "Ah!" I yelp out, twisting my body desperately as the first few rocks flew my way, fearful of getting cut by the sharp edges or getting struck. The shield in my right hand, its length extending from my fist to about a footlong from my elbow, was swung in a frantic fashion. "Crink! Crank!" I could feel my whole body shaking as the barrage smashed against the piece of metal in my hand. It wasn't long before I fall to a knee, using the shield as a cover against the rain of rocks and stone.

"Kiera! Think out of the box!" Big Brother began cheering and shouting, trying his best to give me any hints he could think off. He had his hands at his mouth, screaming with his eyes closed.

"We've been through this before, Kiera! A shield is only ever a shield if you believe it that way!" Papa's deep voice begin exploding forth, like music coming from a boombox. He was looking really worried, and I feel bad for making Papa feel that way.

"Crack! Thunk!" I could feel the pressure getting heavier, I almost lost my grip a second ago. The rumble and echoes of force flowing through me shakes my mind and numbs my touch. "Kiera-pop! You can do it!" Mama's voice suddenly reached my ears, her voice strangely welcome and soothing. That's right, I can't give in to these unpleasant things and just give up! Papa said, the De Lucas are strong! I must work hard to make that image in my mind a reality! Feeling pumped, I pushed my legs to stand, and push the feeling of dizzyness off my mind and body.

_Mama's voice was just the encouragement I needed. Even more because she was there, watching. As rare as seeing Mama was, I felt there is no space for failure. A number of factors pushing me along, giving me strength, I felt my mind cleared and strength returning._

My first action in a few minutes, I lifted my shield and swung it in an arc in front of me, as hard as I can, the memory of Big Brother's swing coming into mind. "Crink! Crack! Kaboosh!" The weight of my shield, as well as the impact of knocking into the pelting rocks, pulled so hard I felt like my arm would fly off, or at least the shield would, but I tried my best to control the action. The swing left me tired, my body feeling heavy and wanting rest. But, as I regained focus, I realized my side was exposed. Frantic, the adrenaline pushing my actions, I jumped, my left hand grabbing the top of my shield as it touched the ground with a small quake, releasing my right hand and its grip on the handle of the shield.

"Ba-bump! Ba-bump!" Heartbeat bouncing around my ears, I tried not to think of what I'm actually doing, as I used the shield as support, and in turn swung my legs in another arc in front of me, kicking against another set of rocks. I could feel some of the stones grazed and cut my skin, the dust scattered as heat from the friction burst off. Landing on my feet, I could feel sharp spikes of pain as if forcing me down. "Ow..." I couldn't help mutter out as my feet throbbed. Before my knees gave in to the pain, I held the shield and swung it in an overhead arc to bring it to the front to block any remaining rain of rocks.

Falling to my knees once more, I closed my eyes and hid myself behind my shield, like a turtle hiding inside its shell. When the sounds and smashing stopped, I finally mustered enough strength to stand up, popping my head out from behind the shield. It took me a while to realize I was at the beach.

"Kiera, heads up!" Big Brother suddenly yells out, louder than before, snapping attention back to my tired mind. Albeit, it was a bit too late, as the last piece of rock flew and struck me on my forehead, straight in the center. Without mercy, I was struck down by the blow, literally falling back and landing on a soft bed of light, yellow sand.

A few seconds later, I opened my eyes to a bright, blue sky, greeted by the gentle crashing of waves. "Kiera!" I could hear Big Brother's voice, as a pair of hands pulled me up, footsteps slapping against the sand can be heard.

After the training ended, we find ourselves walking back the same road back. The sun was already up by the time everything ended, there were a number more regiments after the frist one, but they were much more passive. Rubbing my forehead, I could feel the bandage as well as the sharp pain every few seconds. "Oh, you looked really cool today, Kiera-pop! I'm so proud!" Mama exclaimed with a smile, proud of what I managed to do. Big Brother and Papa also agreed, saying that it was the first time they saw me so focused, never faltering or giving up when facing with pain and danger. Papa said that is exactly what Big Brother and I were training to achieve, though he didn't say why exactly we needed to have those qualities. I only walked on with a smile, the shield still in my hands, the cuts still stinging. I felt happy that the image of a cool, beautiful girl who is strong and skillful seemed closer than before.

_That day was the first time I fought seriously, never giving up from the difficulty or the pain. Strange, upon recollection, I guess I did achieve what I wanted back then, today. Although, I cannot say I am satisfied by the turn of events that shaped me into what I am today, no matter how powerful I am now. No, I despise the way it occurred, the events that happened. Thinking back, I should have paid more attention to what I saw, and heard. I would have realized my memory was more than a dream. I would have seen how lifeless the town has become. I would have been able to save them..._

_No, there is no room for regrets. The story will be told, but I would not have the regret chewing upon my soul, I intend to keep my promise..._

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><p><strong>I wonder, did I set it up right? Did I build up the expectation enough? Are you guys curious about what happened? Or are you guys sick of waiting to find out what it is? I really hope it's the former... Don't worry, just keep a look out for the next chapter! The action will be starting very soon!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6: The Outbreak

**Author's Note:**

**Things have been going slow these few days. I'm sorry this chapter's been pretty late. Well, The upcoming chapters are gonna be interesting! I hope you guys can spare me your patience and follow this story through!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: The Outbreak.<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_This is it. All the pieces are in play. Everything changed after that one day, at that one moment in school. The setting untouched, showing no signs of the event after, it was wiped off from the face of history, dismissed as nothing more than a story, a rumor. The town would find itself engulfed in shadows upon that particularly fine day. The forbiddance of an ancient evil would be ignored, and chaos would be unleashed into the city. Do not look at me with widened eyes, this tale I am about to say is absolutely true. The stage is set. This is the beginning of the end._

"Ow..." I whined softly to myself as I lied on the table throughout lunch, unable to move my body much. The summer heat would shine through the windows, but it was nothing compared to the burst of heat coming from my muscles. Sigh, this always happens after training. My body would ache and it would feel sore all over. I didn't feel like eating anything that day, as usual, I just wanted to rest. As I laid, I could see the white edges of my bandages covering my body as I peeked. The stinging has gotten better at least.

"Wow, those injuries looks worse than before... Just what happened, Kiera?" Neil suddenly asks me as he took a seat in the opposite side of the table, his hand holding on to a tray of lunch. With nothing stopping him, he began chomping down on his food as he looks to me for answers.

"Uh.. are you okay, Kiera? W-what about l-lunch?" Viela meekly asks out, taking her seat beside me with her lunch as well.

I shift my head, burying my face and snuggling in my arms. It feels like I'm putting my head against my pillow in bed. "I'm fine... I just.. fell off the stairs." I just push the first reason that popped into my mind. "I'm not that hungry today, too." I replied once more. To tell the truth, I had little strength left to worry about their reactions. "So.. what'd I miss during Homeroom today?" I casually asks out, head still down on the table.

"Not much. Class feels down today..." Neil gave out in between his bites, quickly finishing his lunch. "It felt.. really weird..." He looks really confused as he answered, pondering hard enough for him to stop eating. Was it really that strange this morning? I didn't notice much.

"Y-yeah.. L-look around.. it's been so.. S-slow.." Viela added. At her suggestion, all three of us turned and scanned our eyes across the cafeteria. Wow, it's true. As I looked, I could see students all looking bored and tired. The usual chatter and excitement you could hear from the different groups has all but vanished. It felt like everyone's gotten the monday blues, except it's not Monday, and it feels worse. Indeed, there was a strange atmosphere going on, strange enough for me to ignore my tired body and sit up straight and wonder what's going on.

The scene would look blurred, stale in comparison to what was the usual. The cafeteria looked unusually bland. Soft whispers can be heard, but that was it. The students would sit scattered from each other, some of them looking even more tired than I do. Their eyes was pale white with blothes of red, and they would lie on the table moaning.

_It was a sad, depressing scene. They would lay there, students and even the staff, lazily. They looked beyond grotesque, something you would never expect to see outside of horror movies. They had the look horrendous, pale and sickly, stumbling across the floor. They had bags of skin under their eyes, like they went through a thousand night sleepless. It was horrible._

"Clank!" A metal clashes against the floor all of a sudden, the ringing so loud it racks my brain. On the signal, everyone turn to see what happened, snapping out of the blues they just had.

Right here in the middle of the cafeteria, a boy had dropped his metal tray on the floor, his lunch thrown and scattered all over. He just stood there, a blank in his eyes, and yet, the sight was enough to silence whatever voices that was speaking before. A moment later, he just crashed onto the floor, knee first. His body just lost all strength, and he dropped like a puppet that got its string cut. The lifeless boy just laid there, not moving. Everyone just watched, I think we were all paralysed by what just happened. Could he be dead? No, that couldn't happen, that's impossible!

Then, he just burst up to his knees, clutching his neck. By this time, a few of the students had already gotten closer to him to see what was happening. His veins, dark black in color, throbbed, looking as if they were gonna burst. His movements was feral, clawing and scratching his neck and throat, noises unbearable to hear kept coming out. "Augh! Argh!" He kept coughing and crying, the sight was enough for me to close my eyes to avoid. I can feel as though everyone was cringing at what was happening. His skin looked worse than everyone else's, yellowish foam started forming and dripping from his mouth. My heart skipped a beat at the sight. "Cough... Ah!" His cries continued, piercing my ears.

"H-hey! Is that guy's okay?" Neil was the first one to break the silence, screaming for help as he ran to the guy. He was still twitching and thrashing around, as if unable to control his body. I only find myself taking one step towards Neil before two other student dropped senseless around us, scaring both me and Viela. "Ah!" We both screamed out uncontrollably as it happened.

Then they started doing exactly as the boy before, cracking down as their body twitches and shivers. Their eyes would widen with blank pupils, as if they were hit by shock, their mouth starting to foam as well. Ah! What's happening? Why are they all behaving like this? Is it sickness? Or something else?

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. I could feel my heart bounce faster within my chest, as confused as I was. "W-wagh!" "Eyah!" Voices screamed out, prompting the other students to move. I think terror spread amongst the other students already. Everything was in a state of panic, some studentstrying to wake those that fainted, others calming down those that were acting up. Some even ran away with bloodshot eyes, full of fear, suspicion. And yet, with each passing moment, the number of students fainting kept on increasing!

"Wha-what is this..?" I asked out to my friends beside me. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. My heartbeat booming in my head, it wasn't long before we find ourselves the only ones standing, the only ones still conscious in the cafeteria.

_So there I was, standing in front of a sea of bodies, lifeless, a blank look in their eyes. With them all shriveled up, their skin sickly pale, veins dark as night spread all over, they lay motionless. The stress of what was happening was slowly building up, accumulating. I could feel the inner machinations of my mind screaming for me to escape, a aching pain spiked at the back of my head. And yet, above all else, I wanted to know what was happening, what I could do to help..._

I sat there, trying my best to wake those that have collapsed. Their skin may look weird, but they felt the same, as warm as everyone else's. "Hey, wake up!" I cried out desperately, my voice breaking off here and there. Yet, nothing I do seem to knock the students out of the trance they're suffering from. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. The only sound louder than my friends' voices was that of my own heartbeat.

"Whoa!" Neil's yell surprised the both of us, and I turned my eyes to see one of the students already standing up, stumbling, or maybe limping his way towards Neil. "Hey, he's okay!" Neil cried out with a smile, but that quickly changed as the boy slashed across with a pair of scissors in hand. "What the-" Neil's voice was cut as he dodged the swing by chance, falling and rolling towards us. "H-hey! What are you doing?" He yelled out, stressed over what just occurred.

"Urgh..." The student gave no reply, only moaning out as if in pain. He continued his fumbling steps, his eyes empty, soulless. His hand gripped the pair of scissors so hard his hands was bleeding.

The sight was enough to make me swallow hard. To tell the truth, I didn't know what to do after that, my legs felt cold, wobbly. My hands was trembling hard. "Arh!" Another groan came outta nowhere, and immediately I felt rough, hot skin graze against mine. Weight shifting my vision, I felt dizzy from the sudden movement. Snapping back, I saw I was being bear-hugged by another one of them, holding me down as the one with the scissors approached me.

"Eyah!" I acted on reflex, crying out , breaking whatever grip that was holding me down and throwing the student at the other. Both of them slammed against each other like rag dolls, crashing against the walls at the far end of the cafeteria. Only then did we realize, amidst the glowing, summer rays, that almost everyone who collapsed before had stood up, making their way towards us, limping and stumbling like zombies.

"W-what the heck?" Neil's voice was strained as he yelled out, he's probably in full panic. Both Viela and I were so afraid we couldn't say anything anymore. Shivering, we find ourselves slowly taking steps back as the horde got closer and closer.

"Huff.. Puff. Huff.." I could hear my own uncontrollable breathing, the heat searing my throat. Sweat slowly dripped down my nose as I took another step back. Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump! The sound of my heart has only gotten louder and faster. Then, a cold feeling touched the back of my neck, amidst the summer heat. We used whatever chance we could to turn and see, and we came face to face with a pane of glass. It's one of the upgraded features to the cafeteria, a see-through glass that can let us see into the hallway as well as vice-versa. Strange, why can't I see through? All I could see was a sea of white, kinda like steam.

Suddenly, a wave of hands, clawing and scraping, smashed against the pane of glass. The yellowish nail, stained with dirt, slashed across. "Ah!" All three of us cried out simultaneously, jumping back at the sight. A crowd of heads comes into the picture, each looking the same as the other, like the students moaning and crying. In our panic, we quickly began running, as the door beside the pane of glass started rumbling. "Uh.. Ah.." I couldn't help but cry out as we ran, our hands locked with each others, dodging the zombies and right into the kitchen. Just what in the world is happening?

_It was a scene full of chaos. Those monsters, with dragging feet and sluggish movements, groan and moan while closing in on us. Whether it was ther goal or instinct, they would strike us with weapons in their hands. Lacking the proper motor controls, they use them like animals, crude and powerful. Their number exploded within the minutes. Their looks now, skin gray as if deprived of blood, faoming at the mouth and tearing from the eyes, makes it hard to believe they were ever human. Strangely, it felt like they were after something, or maybe, someone..._

For all the fear and panic, we remained in the kitchen. Neil now stood near the door, which had been blocked by two tables and a few chairs, keeping watch. Viela and I sat down by the far side, our movements numbed, still in shock of what happened. When we reached the backdoor leading to the outside, we found out it was bolted down with a number of locks, snuffing out any hope of escape from this hellish nightmare. Even as we waited it out, I could hear our breaths going crazy. We need to do something! Even as my thoughts screamed, I was too tired to say it out.

Are.. we going to die? What's with this crazy stuff happening here and now? Just what happened back there? Why? Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Even now, as we waited, my heartbeat never got any slower...

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><p><strong>Well, this took way, way longer than I wanted. I guess it's because of this setting. I never done a zombie setting before. Okay, I can understand if this feels too outrageous for some of you out there, but please, stay with me for now, there is a proper explanation for this. I just hope you will accept it when it comes your way!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7: Shattered Dreams

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys. Were things really surprising the last chapter? Did I portray the fear, chaos and confusion right? I guess with no reviews, I'll never know. Don't worry, the story must continue. Just what is happening in the school, or Venice for that matter? And how did this event got wiped out from history? I hope the story doesn't disappoint!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Shattered Dreams<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_It was difficult, least to say, to describe how I felt back then. Silence rendered my thoughts painful, each pump of blood could be felt. The throbbing in my body only served to lessen the shivers that numbed my movements. I would find myself staring at a single, unchanging spot for who knew how long, as if hoping a change would come. Hoping that someone would come help us. And yet, a part of me detested that weakness. The sight of my friends so afraid, the sight of others suffering, I felt annoyed being dragged along by the chaos. I guess deep down I knew I was strong, and I was angry at myself._

I blinked, and I could only wonder how long it's been. Bright sunlight shined through the openings above, warming the kitchen we're in. It felt really stuffy. It's been a while now, and only silence now fills the room. I could barely keep my eyes open as light reflected off the metal surfaces of the kitchen. Moving my body felt painful, each move has its own sting and tremble. A soft weight pressed against my side, and I turned to see Viela resting on my shoulders. I myself sat and leaned against the wall. Viela looked even more tired, her eyes barely opened.

My blurry eyes cleared to show Neil leaning against the wall, huffing and puffing as he rested. No words from him must mean we're safe for the moment.

"Viela, you okay?" I called out to her, my voice sounding really worried. I guess I was over-imagining things a bit, but she looked still as she rested. Even when someone's sleeping, you can see and feel him or her breathing, right? With Viela, I could feel no such thing. Her eyes slit open slowly, and she replied, with barely enough strength to form her words.

"Yeah, I'm okay.." Her tone of voice slowly died down, as she seemed to doze off right after her words end. As she did, I look around us and wonder just what's gonna happen next. The quiet, shiny surfaces of the kitchen rang a sharp tone through my mind every once in a while. Whether this was all in my head or not, I don't know.

Even as I sat there, however, there was this nagging feeling at the back of my head. As it slowly builded up, my body felt restless. It took me a while to realize it, but I knew clearly what it meant. We can't just stay there, lying on the ground like that. We needed to get to somewhere safe!

"Viela, Neil, c'mon. We need to get out of here.." I tried to call out as loud as I could. Viela still laid there motionless, and I can't say Neil's any better. Suddenly, I felt extremely worried. "H-hey guys, we can't stay here..." My voice came out stuttering, as if to make my fear obvious. As I tried to help Viela up to her feet, she collasped with the slightest touch, sliding off from my shoulder to the floor like a doll. Even as she did, she made no sound, almost like she didn't feel any of that. She just continued on resting, eyes closed. She looked like someone who's been sick for days.

_A wave of fear washed over my body as I saw what happened, locking myself on that one spot. I could feel my throat bulge and swell, cutting off my voice and any words that spoke out was pushed back. At that one moment, the feeling of tire and pain disappeared from my body, but I can't say I welcome whatever I felt right after. Multiple thoughts and images flashed across my mind, and left me stiff, paralysed. I felt terrified, of what happen, and what's gonna happen next._

"Viela! Viela! What's wrong?" I begin calling out her name as soon as I regained myself. Rushing to her side, I pulled back my hand as soon as they touched her forehead. Her skin body was warm, and her forehead scorching hot. Even compared to the summer sun, which felt cool in comparison. Her complexion looks real pale now, screaming out the obvious that she's sick. "Viela! Is it a fever? Are you feeling anything else? Can you stand?" My questions came out one after another, as worry filled my mind. Trying to help her up, I only managed to lift her head to my shoulders before a rough, grizzled sound caught my attention.

I only saw a glimpse of pale, trembling arms as I turned to look up, before a long kitchen knife slashed across my face. My eyes widened as a few strands of my hair was cut, and a small, stinging cut appeared on my left cheek. Something wet flowed down my face, and as I touched it, I realized it was, red all over my hand.

Suddenly, I felt a whole lot more afraid than before. My widened eyes stared on as my body stopped moving, Viela still sick at my side. "Huff.. Puff.. Huff..." Heavy breathing can be heard, the sound now the only thing I hear. Neil stood there in front of me, sickly pale, blank eyes, a long, sharp knife in his hand. He stood, hunched all over, his body shivering and trembling. The knife in his hand still had the small droplets of blood from my face.

"N-Neil?" I called out, strangely concerned. The occasional look on his face told me that he was suffering, struggling. However, he lunged at the sound of my voice.

The sound of struggling filled the room, as I fell on my back. My two hands was wrapped tightly around Neil's right hand, in which the knife was. We twisted around the place, but I made sure we were moving away from Viela. Even with two hands, his strength felt inhuman, I could feel my grip losing as the whole thing took place. His other hand pushed itself down on my throat, suffocating me, making it really hard to breathe and think.

"No! S-stop!" My voice cried out in between my breaths. The hand pressing down my thoat was heavy, but I couldn't pull it off. Once I let go of his other hand, the knife would plunge right into me. Questions screamed in my mind about why Neil would do this, as well as some occasional blanks from the lack of breathing.

Out of nowhere, another set of hands gripped my body, clutching hard on my legs. Shifting my eyes slightly, I saw Viela holding on to me, the same look as Neil's in her eyes. I began freaking out as they begin acting like those students before. Dark veins would rise on their skin, and black lines would rip through their eyelids and spread towards their ears. By now, their blank eyes were accompanied by painful moaning and grunts.

All I knew was that my friends were attacking me, that they wanted to stab me with that knife. All I thought of was to get away.

And then it was over. Neil and Viela laid on the ground, now even more motionless than before. The feeling of life has disappeared. A small puddle of blood starts to spread from under their bodies, staining their clothes in a bright, red color. I fell to my knees, my body trembling harder than before. In my hands was the knife that Neil had, the blade covered with blood all over. Hands shaking, I dropped the knife to the ground at the sight of the blood. "Clank." The sound rang, and I knocked it away, sliding it under the sink. I just didn't want to see it.

"Sniff.. Sob.. Sniff.." I wept and sob uncontrollably, my body reacted by shaking even more. I couldn't feel my body. Trying hard to stand, I would fall everytime. I couldn't remember anything that happened. Beads of sweat kept falling, either from fear, confusion or maybe even the summer sun. All I could do was sat there, shutting my eyes to avoid seeing my friends like that.

_It took me a while, but I did recollect the event that happened. Struggling around, my body struck all over the place, the combined weight of my friends crushing down on me. Even as everything was taking place, Neil was relentless in bringing down the blade. At the time when my mind blanked out, instinct took over. Throwing force into my hands, I managed to redirect the trajectory of the knife in his hands, plunging it into Neil's shoulders, a deep cut. Staggered, he dropped the blade which landed in my hands. In my panic, I stabbed Viela on the back, who was crawling up as well as locking down my body. Slahsed at her arms when she tried to strangle me. As she fell to the ground, I held the blade in front of me to defend against Neil. The next feeling I had was of metal sinking into soft flesh. Neil fell as well, a cut wide open in his chest._

"Sniff.. Sniff.." I couldn't stop even after a while had passed. In my mind, images and questions kept screaming out, asking for answers. Memories of the time I spent with Neil and Viela would sneak their way into my thoughts. Their smile and laugh making it more and more painful. All the promises we made to each other, like when we promised to spend the summer break together, or to have a snowball fight during winter, it won't ever happen now. In my mind, the images I imagined broke off into tiny, little pieces, and floated off into the dark depth of thought.

The blood, those tiny drops, had trickled from the blade and onto the palm of my hand. It was warm, sticky, and I didn't want to look at it. "Why.. is this happening...?" I asked out, hoping for a reply, an answer, anything. The silence said nothing. The uestion also came to mind. Why did the students act like that? Was it sickness? They certainly looked sick enough. But why did they start attacking me? They look like the zombies you see in movies, this can't be an apocalypse, right? "Sniff.. It makes no sense.. I don't understand.."

"Please.. Somebody save me.." My voice came out unexpectedly, making me wonder why I said that. The best I could do was huddle up away from the.. bodies.. I felt tired, sick. Hugging my knees and burying my face, I try my best to calm myself. "Big Brother.. "I called out once more before slipping into sleep.

_I had to kept thinking of the questions, the memories, anything to keep me distracted. Or else I would've came to the thought that I killed my best friends, with my bare hands, and it would've broken me. Even then, the thought was still at the back of my mind, I felt like my sanity was hanging by a thin thread. The crimson red a constant reminder, stained my hand and clothes. The metallic smell slowly filled the room. At that time, I wished it was all just a bad dream, hoping that I would've woken up from that sight. It was in this one ordeal, that I lost the two only friends I had..._

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><p><strong>Sorry! I'm really sorry that this came as late as it did. It's just the idea of death, especially an unwilling one, is so difficult to write. I had to spent days and days to think of a good setting and premise, as well as how everything would occur. This chapter really did make me think more highly of writers out there. Well, if you guys have anything to say, write it our in your reviews!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8: The Forbidden Bullet

**Author's Note:**

**Well, it's taking longer and longer for me to write, and ideas seems to pop out of nowhere sometimes. So I've decided to post these chapters when I can, cause I have been feeling the drop in the quality of my chapters, probably because of my rushing. All right, the chapter coming up!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: The Forbidden Bullet.<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_Chaos had been unleashed in the city of Venice. Hordes and hordes of people, reduced to mindless drones, driven by an unknown will, governed by primal instinct. Lying in wait alone in the cafeteria kitchen, the silence felt suffocating. Random dreams and images would flash through my mind. I would see myself fall into the monsters' claws, or stand atop the dead bodies of my friends, smiling. The only light in my thoughts was Big Brother. I had no idea, but I believed he would fix it. I believe he can do anything. Soon, his voice kept ringing in my ears..._

"Kiera?" An familiar voice called out my name, and with it a certain feeling appeared within me. I felt relieved, or maybe confused, but it didn't felt like it was anything bad. Wait, am I just hearing things in my mind? All I could see was muddy darkness, blurred with puffs of white smoke. Am I asleep? Is this a dream? Questions kept popping out as curiosity got to me.

"Kiera!" The sound seemed more forceful now. It felt like whoever who was shouting my name was worried. Wait, why? Did something happened? I felt like I've forgotten something really important. And my body felt really heavy.

Then, there was this flash of blinding, white light. The flash seemed to stretch across as far as I could see. And then I was hit by realization. I suddenly saw my friends lunging at me. Pale skin and blank eyes, they looked like wild animals. The feeling of me puncturing their body, slashing through my friends, returned to my hand. The feeling of soft flesh easily cut, the metal blade in my hand digging deeper into the flesh, as well as how easily it was, everything returned to my mind. I could feel my body throbbing and trembling uncontrollably after that.

"KIERA!" After that, Big Brother's face came into sight, his blue eyes blurred with worry. He was shaking me, putting his hands on my shoulders to calm me down. I stared on with widened eyes in shock, the images of my friends' bodies, the warmth of their blood, everything was still fresh in my mind. "Kiera, snap out of it!" He yelled out, his voice sounding even more desperate. Tears start to fall from my eyes as Big Brother gave me a hug.

"It's okay, it's gonna be okay!" Big Brother tried his best to assured me. I was tired, but still shaking all over. "We need to get out of here!" He told me as he held my hands and began leading me to the door.

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><p>The next thing I knew, I was back home, huddling in a corner near the fireplace. My eyes were tired. I tried to rest, but questions keep coming up, memories kept reminding me of what happened. I sat there, my eyes wide and alert, not saying a word, or doing anything else. I barely even remembered how we got home...<p>

_We ran, I followed. Big Brother did his best to fight off the horde as he led me out of the school. I felt lethargic, exhausted. Control of my movement was awkward, myself stumbling onto the ground a few times over. The shivering and trembling would come and go, leaving me tired and sapping off my energy. My eyes felt painful, my vision blurred everything else except for Big Brother. I'm relieved that Big Brother was there to drag me out of the school and back home, his warm hands and assuring face the only thing keeping my mind from giving away..._

I could hear voices. They seemed to be forceful, confused, angry. I just kept my eyes on the smothered wood and pale gray ashes lying in the fireplace, my back tuck to the wall. What is happening? Why did this happen? I could see Neil and Viela's blank, empty eyes as the scene played in my mind again and again like a video. I felt horrible as I realized how happy I was when I dug the long, metal knife into their soft flesh, and their movements dulled then stopped, their life flying away. Staring at my trembling hands, the feeling was still there...

"Just what the hell's happening, Dad?" Big brother's yell caught my attention. He had this confused, tired look on his face. His voice cried with anger. Standing in front of him, their backs facing me, was Papa and another man. He looked slim, but you can see that he was also rather well built. He had lush, brown hair, short and neat, and wore a most fancy-looking suit and tie. Expecting an answer, Big Brother slammed his fist into the wall as he got impatient.

"My sources tells me it's the Possession shot." To my surprise, the unknown man answered instead, his voice giving me a gentle impression. Gasps came from both Big Brother and Papa, and left them silenced with widened eyes. I myself wondered what their talking about, trying my best to focus my tired mind as best as I could.

"The forbidden bullet.. here?" I hear Papa's voice, low and deep, break as he gave out those words. I couldn't see his face, but the feeling I got from his voice alone was saddening.

"Wait, then the zombies.." Big Brother asked out once more, even more confused, desperate for an answer.

"I believe that's the effect of the bullet..." The unknown man, gently gave out. Even so, I could feel him trying his best to remain focused, and answer comfortingly in an attempt to calm us down. It took a while, but what happened next was something I didn't expect.

"You lie, Luciano! Are you telling me that everyone in this town has fallen prey to the forbidden bullet? That someone is exerting his will and controlling them?" Papa burst out with questions, looking freaked out. He said it in a way that looked like he was trying to deny what he heard. Then, he tried to recover, but stumble back once again. "Impossible..." Papa slowly gave out before returning to his previous, collected self. I never see Papa so surprised at anything before.

I stared on with questions of my own. Who is this man? What is this forbidden bullet all of them are talking about? Why did Papa got such a shock? As tired as I was, I started moving.

I don't know if it was because of him being confused, tired or just too shocked to say anything, but Big Brother was silent for a while. He looked like he was thinking about something, his eyes darting all over the place. "So.. we.. need to kill them all?" Big brother gave out with a gulp, his voice shaking as if he never wanted to say the words out. My eyes widened once more at his suggestion. How could he suggest such a thing?

"Ahem." The man named Luciano cleared his throat as he carefully gave his reply. "As you know, the effects of the Possession shot renders its victims possessed, their control, their mind, everything they know, stolen and taken over by the user of the bullet." I could feel myself shiver as I listened. All of this sounded so impossible to believe, like it was magic or something. "The will of the user is projected into these bodies, and thus the user is able to control the victim like a puppet." Mister Luciano continues, his expression stiff but nonetheless calm.

"But the behavior of the citizens.. Something must have gone wrong..." At that sentence, he began to sound worried. He must be referring to them turning into zombies. As I got even closer, I support myself on the coffee-table.

"Nevertheless, the solution is simple enough.." I find myself strongly drawn for his answer as I pulled myself up despite how tired I was. "We just have to hunt down whoever is responsible, and everyone else should return to normal..." He gave his reply confidently, arching his back straight and holding his head higher.

"Crash!"

I look down to see broken pieces of glass from the vase that was a few inches away from my hand a few seconds ago. I turn to see everyone staring, their eyes piercing me for answers. I stood, shaking hard as the memories return, my widened eyes staring at the empty air.

_It was sudden, and extremely painful. The feeling of guilt rushed back into me as I heard Lord Luciano's words. The memories, the images, the feelings, all flashed back in an instant, triggering the violent convulsions. Only this time accompanied by a new, more unbearable feeling. The thought of regret appeared to chew on my soul, poisoning my thoughts. I found out It was not my friends' fault that they acted that way, that they were controlled against their will. That they would've been saved had I not raised the blade against them..._

"Kiera! Kiera! Speak to me!" The next sight I saw was Momma's pretty face, looking really worried. She kept shaking me, just as Big Brother did back at school. Warm, wet water started falling from her eyes, droplet by droplet. Tears. Then, it felt extremely soft, and warm. That was when I realized Momma hugged me tight. I felt safe. I don't know why, but my body felt lighter, my throat swelled every-time I tried to talk. It wasn't long before tears started falling from my eyes.

Papa, Big Brother and the Mister stood, a grim look on their face. Big Brother must have explained to them what happened at school. Papa then gritted his teeth in anger.

"Sir! We've spotted a suspicious figure near the docks!" Another man rushed in, delivering his message before even stopping his footsteps. The piece of news brought them back into action. Nodding at each other, Papa began to equipped himself while Big Brother returned to my side. Putting on what looked like armor as well as a pair of huge, heavy bronze gauntlets, he walked to Mister Luciano's side. Mister Luciano, as strange as it was, stood there waiting, as if he was ready. Their steps brought them to the door, before Mister Luciano turned to face Papa.

"The Possession shot required great will, spirit as well as compatibility. Despite that fact, he was able to enslave the whole of Venice. Whoever we're dealing with, it'll be extremely dangerous. Be on high alert, be careful." He tried to tone down his voice as he told Papa, putting his hand on Papa's shoulder. His expression changed to one of pure concern and worry, but anyone could have seen how serious he was. On his hand, I could see his ring shining, forcing me to squint my eyes. The two of them left soon after. As tired as I was, I felt a small spot of relief knowing this man is going to be by Papa's side...

_In history, the uses of the Possession shot led to its own forbiddance. Possession of powerful figures sparked off major conspiracy theories as well as in-fighting within the Mafia underworld. Nobody felt safe, its existence threatened everyone and anyone who knew of it. Records showed massacres and obliteration of entire Famiglias because of the bullet's possession, but the numbers never even reached a dozen. The enemy, his will dispersed along the thousands of people, diluted his control over them. That is why the people of Venice acted like that. They became savages, driven by a single, ancient will, acting on their primal, savage instincts..._

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><p><strong>Oh, the story is coming in nicely. First thing's first, do you guys accept my explanation? If you don't please tell me why! I might even change the story for you! Just who is this unknown enemy, who commands the horde and bends them to his will? Why is he attacking Venice? Does this have to do with the De Lucas? We'll you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9: Mask And Cross

**Author's Note:**

**Often I would wonder where this story has gone, what emotions it has invoked for the reader, as well as how radically different it has become from the draft I had thought up before. After all, not even I expected Zombies, or even the Forbidden Bullet to appear. The climax is nearing, I hope you guys enjoy the story!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Mask And Cross<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_There, in the De Luca household, we waited. It was dreadfully painful. Papa went to fight, with Lord Luciano at his side, against the unknown threat. We had no way whatsoever of knowing or understanding the situation. It was difficult, tiring. All I had was the faint hope in my heart, hope that Papa would return everything back to the way it was. Swept by fatigue, confusion, fear and regret, it wasn't long before I find my consciousness slip back into the darkness..._

"H-huh?" I awoke to a slight rumbling from the ground. I think I fell asleep. Looking around, I realized I was still in the living room. The curtains covered the windows, so it was dark. I couldn't tell if it was day or night, to be honest. My head was lying against something soft, and as I turn to see what it was, I saw Big Brother asleep by my side. His breathing was heavy, and sweat fell down his forehead continously. That was when I realized Big Brother's just as afraid as I was, and that he had to stay calm and protect me even so.

I looked around the room, and saw the Family shield, our crest decorated all over its face. I must have caused alot of trouble for my family, on top of what was already happening. That was when another rumble, this time louder than before, knocked the shield out of place. "Crash! Bang!" The heavy shield knocked against the walls and tables before crashing down.

"Whoa!" Big Brother bounced awake at the crash, jumping up to his feet. "What's happening!" He cried out, already making his way to the door as I pushed my body to stand. "Cr-crack!" The sharp sound stung our ears, raising both our attention to the current situation. Just as Big Brother's hand touched the doorknob...

"Crash!"

The windows in our house, tall and wide as they were, shattered in an instant, the sharp, piercing sound filled the room. Immediately, I ducked down, shut my eyes and my ears, while my brother got to my side and did the same. I didn't know why, but the thought of preventing myself from getting hurt from the shattered glass popped into my mind. The shattering was followed by another rumble, so violent it felt like we were hit by an earthquake. As the windows shattered one by one, the vases and ornaments smashed into pieces as they fell, the door was blown wide open.

Stumbling, I paced towards the door, clutching and hiding behind my Brother's back while trying to keep ourselves balanced. As we got closer, loud bangs could be heard in between blasts of explosions. I think they were gunshots. It felt like we were caught in the middle of a war. Past the door, it suddenly felt really hot, and the explosions got louder and louder.

"Boom!"

A blast was so close I could feel my ears ringing even after I shut it tightly with my hands. As the outside came into view through the door, smoke filled the streets. Charred stone were black from the blasts, and blown apart from the stone-paths. "Get him, focus fire!" I hear a familiar voice, givng out orders. I turn to see Mister Luciano as well as Papa at the near end of the street, as well as a couple of men in black. They held all sorts of guns in their hands, firing them as they moved.

"Wh-what?" Big Brother cried out, as confused as he was, his eyes flying all over the place. I couldn't say anything, my lips were dry, and I was still tired, only trying my best to follow what was happening with my eyes. We stood confused, frozen just outside our was when the hooded figure suddenly appeared atop the roof of the opposite building. The hood he had on was torn from the gunfire, yet, he said nothing as he was shot, his movements not the least slowed.

Then, in the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of us. The guns kept shooting, the sound so loud I couldn't hear anything else. Anything else except for my own heartbeat. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. A bullet shot finally tore through the cloak, and it flew off, revealing the person who was hiding in the shadow.

_The masked figure stood lifeless, like a golem standing in place, yet his presence was so piercing, so daunting, it left us paralysed. His robes, which flew over his body, were emblazoned with ancient designs, littered with unrecognizable symbols which snaked down to the edges. Armor over his robes looked beyond their time, adorned with a multitude of medals, emblems, badges, buttons and even skulls. Some looked worn by age and time, some cracked or damaged, while others shined, reflecting the rays of the sun, making him a rather inconspicous target._

_He stood there, a narrow mask over his face and a gigantic, dangling cross over his back. The ancient, weathered cross hung inverted, giving off a sense of eeriness and fear. Similar symbols of the inverted cross was crafted onto his mask. Everything about him alluded to knowledge, power, danger, a being beyond our faintest comprehension._

I watched as the man raised his arm, revealing a thick gauntlet. I knew what was gonna do, but I was still too afraid to move. Just as he brought it down, however, something else pushed me out of the way. "Ah!" I cried, voice returning, as I flew a few feet to the side, landing close to the door. The next thing I saw was Big Brother standing where I was before, closing his eyes and blocking his face as he took the blow instead.

"Argh!" Big Brother yelled out as he flew, crashing through the wall and into the house.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. The figure soon switched its target back to me, slowly making his way towards me. The whole scene felt really slow, and with each step, all the items he had on him would ring and clatter, like they were cheering on. My body started moving on its own, stepping back one step at a time. Suddenly, Papa charged at the masked man, pushing him back with his two gauntlets. I couldn't believe how scared I was. Everything was still moving slowly, and I saw Papa throwing down his punches at the masked figure, with each hit looking like he striking a wall. And even then, Papa would probably break it down.

The man, calm and precise in his movement, reached for the cross hanging from his back. And in a fast, howling swing, the huge lump of metal clashed with Papa's gauntlet. That was when Papa stopped moving, and the figure struck him down.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. My heartbeat returned, and so did how tired I felt. Knees shaking, I forced my legs to step back when he started moving towards me again. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. A few steps back, and my back touched something hard. It was the door. The next thing I wanted to do was to turn around and run into the house, but I was too afraid, and too tired to do so."N-no.." My voice came out cracking as my knees gave away. The things I saw just kept getting blurred as the figure got in front of me... At that moment, I really thought it was the end..

"GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" Big Brother's yell suddenly cut into the scene, coming from inside te house. A second later he burst out of the hole he created, leaping towards the man with his two, giant hammers. I watched in awe as he used one hammer to balance his spin, as well as to swing the other down on the masked figure as hard as he could. The next thing I knew, the masked man had raised his cross to meet with Big Brother's hammer. The strike blew rocks, stone and dust everywhere.

Just as he raised his gauntlet again to strike Big Brother down, another gauntlet came in to hold it in place, and another grabbed on to the man from behind. Papa appeared, crushing down and holding the masked man in place. "Hragh! Yargh!" Big Brother kept yelling as he continued swinging his hammers against the figure, but his strikes couldn't even dent the armor, and the man didn't look like he was hurt at all.

"Kiera! Get back in the house! Find your Mother!" Papa ordered me, struggling with his words. It was obvious that he was having trouble holding down on the masked man. The look on Big Brother's face went from angry to desperate, as his swings got more and more wild. Each movement from the masked man led to violent, almost painful situations as Papa tried his best to not lose his grip. Shaken by Papa's words, I forced my body to stand, and entered the house. The last thing I saw before I closed the door, was a flash of bright light, as Mister Luciano punched the masked figure with his bare hands, knocking him further back.

"Momma.." Struggling to keep myself standing, I whispered as I supported myself with hands on the wall, slowly making my way back into the house...

_Stumbling with each step, the fear that emerged from my meeting with the masked man lingered in my heart. The situation I saw convinced me that he was beyond what strength we could muster, and was slowly stripping away what hope accumulated within me. Each step was accompanied with its own set own spikes and pain, the movements getting slower and slower each time. But what would come next... is something... that I would always... that I would never... forget..._

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><p><strong>The masked man appears once more! It seems he has a connection with Kiera! Each chapter brings the story closer to it's end, in this one, even the storyteller herself seems shaken, as if reluctant to disclose what's gonna happen next. Just what exactly happened? Well, keep a lookout for the next update to find out more!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10: Unending Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

**The inhuman, undaunting masked figure slowly approaches, and nothing seems to stop him. Just what is his goal? I'm excited, the story is coming to its final stages. The figure even made an appearance in the main story! Just what is his role in both stories? Well, read on...**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Unending Nightmare<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_I was tired. Strucked by exhaustion, I forced each step forward through what felt like an endless corridor. Pain wrecked my body, each movements came with their own set of convulsions and tremble. Vision failing, spirit dampened, I walked on supporting myself on the walls. Explosions and earthquakes shook the house, but I could barely feel or hear them. At the top of the stairs, I tripped as another blast struck the house, face first on the floor. But I continued on, I myself not knowing why. Whether it was Papa's words from before, or how worried I was for Momma, soon I find myself in front of the door._

My fingers grab down on the cold, metal doorknob, and with only Momma on my mind, I opened the door. "Creak..." The sharp, metal sound of the door swishing open sounded more scary than ever. Pushing it with whatever strength I had left, the soft-colored door was slowly thrown wide open. My eyes went all over the place, from the floor and carpet, to the knick-knacks and pictures hanging on the wall. As my sight looked up, I saw a something I could never forget...

There, in the middle of the room, by the bed, was Momma. Instead of the picture of her sitting worried in my mind, she was on the floor, looking like she collasped. And.. She's covered.. with blood! Blood all over her clothes! Standing by her side, the Masked man looked down silently, not moving an inch, lifeless.

Momma.. No... I opened my mouth to scream, but I couldn't hear my voice. I couldn't hear anything, not even the loud beat of my heart that boomed in my head a few seconds ago. My mouth was still wide open, but still, there was no sound. Maybe I was already screaming.

I could feel my whole body shaking, now harder than before. I couldn't hear, but I could feel my legs. Slowly, the sound of heart-beats returned, and I also realized I was moving. A huge pair of scissors appeared in my hand, I must've grabbed it sometime ago, I couldn't remember. As I moved, the Masked man turned to stare at me with his cold eyes.

My mind was a wreck. I felt so afraid, I had trouble breathing. "Huff.. P-puff.. Hah..Ha.. H-huff.." Everytime I breathed in, my throat would swell, the whole experience uncomfortable and annoying. The trembling only made it worse. Momma! Momma! Why is this happening! How did this happen! Questions after questions burst forth in my tired mind, and it felt painful to keep my eyes open. I felt like shutting my eyes, shutting out all that has happened, but for some reason, my eyes stayed wide open. The figure began walking towards me, and I felt like my mind was getting ripped apart. Soon, my walk turned into a sprint.

"Wrraaaagggghhhh!" I cried out as I charged. My voice is now clear. As everything was happening, I could feel something wet flowing from my eyes down my face.

That was when I realized I've been crying.

_With fear and anger, I charged down the figure. At no moment did I let go of the metal in my hand, nor did I truly realized what I had in mind. It was just a chaotic whirlpool of spite, fury and loss. As I pounced on the figure, never did I realized how strange it was... How easy it had been.. The figure stretched out its arm towards me, and I grabbed and tossed it away, slamming it to the floor. Tears flowing, I threw down the pair of scissors. Whether it was instinct or not, I stabbed down hard and pushed the piece of metal through skin and flesh. Screaming, I would repeat the action again... and again... and again. First, it was his neck.. then his stomach.. then his heart... _

_I could never forget the feeling. For the first time in my life.. I wanted someone to die. I wanted him to suffer, to feel the pain... Warm blood squirted out, hot as they smeared my clothes and splashed on my skin, but I didn't stop. I felt desperate, and my actions only got more frantic, more feral. I only stopped when the figure stopped moving._

It felt like a dream, or a nightmare. I had no strength anymore, the rush that came over me a second ago disappeared as quickly as it appeared. I fell to the floor. Everything looked woozy, and my eyes stung from the tears that was still falling. "Clank!" Trembling, my hands dropped the scissors to the floor, the metal covered with bright, red blood. My mind was still blank even after everything quieted down, and I find myself slowly inching to Momma's side. I looked at her face, her eyes wide opened like she was shocked or something, her skin unnaturally pale.

The blood on her clothes, a deep, dark stain, had already dried. There's even a dried puddle around where she laid. Everytime I saw the blood, I find myself looking away. I didn't want to believe it. To believe what I was seeing.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. My heart-beat kept pounding, faster and faster. Was I afraid? Hands shaking, fingers trembling, I touched Momma's face. It was cold, like.. like metal, or the winter snow. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Throat swelling still, I tried to calm myself down. "M-Momma?" I asked out to the silence of the room. I don't know why, but I began shaking Momma. Was I hoping something would happen? That she would wake up and say everything's okay? As I shook, tears began falling once more, and the shaking got wilder. "M-Momma! Momma! W-wake up!" I called out desperately, my words shook as my whole body shivered.

In between the heart-beats booming in my mind, I saw images within the darkness. I saw the times I spent with Momma. There was that time when she brought us ot to get ice-cream. And that time when we went out to fly kite. "And.. And.." The memories only made me realize how little time we spent together. The silence only made it much more painful.

Momma's smile came into my mind, her bright, amber eyes glowing as we laughed together. Bzzt. Kzzt. Ouch. I shook my head to clear a sudden pain that shocked my mind just a second ago. The memories continue, I saw Momma's deep, hazel hair flowed with the wind, each strand bright and clear as I recalled.

Bzzt. Bzzt! Kzzt! "Ow..." I cried out and the noise rang in my ears, louder than before. The feeling was like a needle pricking me continuosly, getting more and more painful each time. As I looked at Momma on the floor, my vision gets blurry everytime the pain come and goes. It got so painful, I brought my hands to the sides of my head, clutching hard as if it would help.

"O-ouch, w-why am.. I.. hurt.. everytime I.. look.. at Momma.." The words came out mumbling as I squint my eyes in pain, the shocks got bigger.

Bzzt! The images just kept flashing, Momma's face, her smile, the shocks just kept coming. My mind, my brain felt like it's being placed on a frying pan, as it sizzled and spiked as if my mind is trying to get rid of something that's wrong. It's like the stress when doing a difficult math question, except this is about a thousand times worse. Bzzt! Bzzt! Soon, my ears were completely rining from the noise that kept blasting me. They sounded like bells, a number of them, sounding off louder and louder.

"Ouch! Ah!" I couldn't help but cry out in pain. Momma's body on the floor would vanish and re-appear continously, I wasn't sure what was happening anymore. Nothing seemed real anymore, and everything felt like they were crumbling down.

I struggled under the light from the window a few steps to my left, and with another rumble from outside, the glass shattered once more. Bit and pieces flew by me, thrown by a powerful force, cutting my skin and grazing my left arm. The stinging pain appeared within my flesh. I would've paid attention to it had I have not caught a glimpse of the shadow that jumped past the view from the window. Between the blasts, the smoke and the pieces of rocks blown and thrown everywhere, his robes flew with the wind, in strange, graceful rhythm. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. The loud sound of my heart-beat returned as I caught sight of his mask. His badges and buttons bounced and rang as he disappeared from my sight, leaving me shocked, and extremely confused.

Just.. what? He's.. still... outside?

_Struck by a sudden enlightenment, the noise that plagued my mind broke with the shatter of a million glass pieces. Though grasped by both fear and shock, my head slowly turned to look at Momma. Her body had disappeared. I gave no reaction to the discovery, as if my mind and body already expected it. The convulsions got worse, and my heart-beat boomed and pulsed even louder than before. There was only one thing left to do. My eyes shifted a if the motion was the natural action in the world. The sight would be burned into my mind forever._

_Momma laid there, the body covered with a multitude of injuries, punctures. Splatter of crimson red stained her pale white skin, her hazel hair thrown wide by the strands. Her amber eyes, her pupils thinned as her eyes were left wide open, under severe shock. Her face was frozen in a state of disbelief._

_I stared on, my mind broken, empty. I couldn't move, talk or scream. I just stared on, my eyes locked at the scene. I had wondered why Momma left us before, and now I know. _

_Held firmly in her right palm, was a silver ring, and a bright, red ribbon..._

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><p><strong>Does this chapter invoke the emotions within you readers? I gotta admit, this is my first attempt at writing such stories, or even adding such twists, so I hope this one's good. Please tell me your thoughts in your reviews!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11: Broken

**Author's Note:**

**Forced to do something against your will, a regretful decision that changed your life, and worse of all, it's all your fault. If you had something like that happened to you, how would your life change? How will it change your life?**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: Broken.<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_Overwhelming emotions locked out my mind, but my body started to move. I paced myself through the darkness, the guilt eating me from was I supposed to feel? How was I supposed to react? I had no more tears to cry, and no more voice to shout. In silence, my mind lingered in the darkness. Shadows flickering would reveal images once in a while, of the corridors of the house, of the doors leading from one room to the next. I had wondered what happened to me. Whether it was instinct or desire, I picked up the family shield lying on the floor, and pushed the through the door.._

"Kiera!" A familiar voice shouted across the darkness, and Big Brother's face came into view. I saw him yelling desperately. Just what am I doing? I could feel nothing, my mind a great blur.

"Crnk! Crack! Znk!" A terrible, monstrous sound kept roaring out. As painful as it was, I pushed it away like everything else. It took me a while to realize it was from the shield, dragging along the floor. The rubble from the fight cracked and screeched as I took one step after another. I saw Papa, as well as the man who was with him, fighting off the one with the Mask, and my movements got quicker.

The field had become a wasteland, explosions had blown a lot of the stones apart from the street, its edges black from the fire. Involuntarily, I made my way towards the fight, my eyes piercing at the Masked man as if he was all I saw. The sound of people yelling and gunfire slowly drowned itself out. A sharp, ringing sound kept cutting into my thoughts, dying down just as quickly as it appears. What am I doing? Questions emerged every once in a while, in a soft, sad voice. Am I going mad?

Stop.

The voice cried out in my head, pleading as if she was crying. Papa finally noticed me coming, as he shifted his eyes before they widened with shock. I felt nothing, even when the Masked figure raised his gauntlet the second Papa attention turned to me. With one massive swing, he knocked Papa off his feet and crashing towards the house even after Papa blocked with his two hands.

As the brawl between Mister Luciano and the man with the Mask continued, my steps brought me even closer. Staring into the eye-slits of the long, statue-like mask, I saw shadows that danced around, changing their shapes, laughing and gigling in a crazed fashion.

"What's wrong with her!" I could hear Big Brother's voice coming from afar. He sounded worried.

"Did something happened? Go find your Mom!" Papa ordered, a heavy, concerned tone. I think I saw Big Brother dodging back into the house, as worried as he was.

Are you angry?

The voice asked within my mind, now with a curious tone. My body kept on moving on its own, my eyes watching everything that was happening like a movie. One step closer, and the Masked man noticed me. As it happened, my body moved as if it knew, throwing the ancient shield across in a wild swing. A bright flash of light blurred everything else, and just as quick, Mister Luciano jumped out of the way.

"Doom!" The sound blew away everything else as my shield struck the Masked man's gauntlet. The force so powerful, a little feeling returned to me. The stones, dust and sand flew to the sides as if an explosion went off right where we stood. Was I afraid? I could not tell. Eyes appeared from within his mask, ones of surprise and intrigue. Although, his emotions only lasted a second. Raising his gauntlet once more, he threw another punch at me. I didn't know exactly what happened, but at that moment, I bend my knee, bringing my body down and dodging the strike.

My vision was shaky, my mind numb and empty. Voices kept crying out, but in reality, my body fought. Turning in a circle like I was dancing, I used the momentum to throw an even stronger swing just as the Masked man stood surprised after my dodge.

"Thunk!" Pushed by an unknown, almost mysterious force, I pushed on with a power I never thought I had. Surprised as he was, he raised his right gauntlet up so fast my eyes could barely see it.

_They say humans are capable of great things, that our body can achieve feats what most others couldn't believe. The only limitation, the only thing that hold us back, is our mind. When one feels too much pain, the mind dies. Exhausted beyond measure, I lost all feeling of my body. Constant assault from the stress and emotions left my consciousness buried within a dark corner of my own mind. Images of what was happening occasionally flashed into my mind, the sounds muzzled, drowned out. Papa said, in the state I was in, however, I fought with strength, speed and instinct unlike anything he's ever seen..._

_Blank eyes, devoid of hope and life, I dragged on the family shield, my presence silent. He said I couldn't hear anything, that the only thing I saw was the threat. There was death in my eyes, he said, brought forth from a broken mind..._

Are you scared?

The voice asked me in my mind once more, the voice and tone now soft, gentle. Back in the fight, the figure was left stunned. Strangely, I could feel, or rather, sense, confusion from the figure. As he tried to get away, out of fear or caution, my body didn't let him. Wielding the heavy piece of metal that is my shield, I pulled it back towards me and thrusted it at him. Apparently, he couldn't keep up with the two things he wanted to do, defending himself, as well as to jump away. My shield pierced into him like a giant spear.

"Crash!" The man crashed into the stone, breaking into the path and sending dust and sand up into the air, blowing up smoke everywhere.

"Kiera..." Papa said out with a concerned look, sounding serious, worried. I saw a fearful light in his eyes. Papa's... afraid of me.. It felt more difficult to see what was happening, as the shadowy fog got thicker. That was when a small, gentle touch grabbed my hand.

No he's not.

A voice in the darkness replied my thought, consoling me. The voice sounded young, even younger than me.

He's just worried about you.

The shadows vanished, and feelings returned. In my mind I saw who was speaking to me all this while. A young child stood in front of me, her golden hair glowing in the darkness, short and neat, touching her neck. Her green eyes were big and bright, full of hope and life. Wearing a cute dress, she looked at me with a smile, strangely calming me down. Her hair, her eyes reminded me of someone, but my mind felt too tired to come up with an answer.

"Dad!" As my vision got clearer, Big Brother burst outta the house. Blood-shot eyes and a pale white face, he looked like someone who just seen a ghost. "Dad! Dad!" He kept yelling out, his movements jittery.

"Calm down, what happened!" Papa tried his best to calm Big Brother down, but I could see him feeling worked up. Big Brother opened his mouth, but no words came out. I could see how difficult it was for him to tell Papa. Of course, I knew what he was gonna say.

"Mom's... dead!"

Everyone was shocked as they heard it, their eyes blown wide open. Papa tried to blink once, then he tried again, before tears started forming around his eyes. Big Brother stood by his side, sobbing away, still trying to hide the look of him crying. The guilt, the feeling, the regret, everything just burst right into me again, and just when I thought I cried all I could, tears exploded from my eyes.

_Papa said that as Big Brother yelled out his words, tears started dripping from my eyes. Small, tiny droplets fell from my green eyes, full of crimson veins. It seemed as my consciousness cried, so did my body, reacting to the feelings that swept over me._

It's my fault! It's all my fault! I killed my friends, I killed Momma! And now, I'm afraid of what's gonna happen to me! I'm so bad, so evil! In my mind, I cried and I cried, screaming out the thoughts that made me feel guilty, feel afraid. The little girl in my mind stood by my side, her presence holding me back from going completely mad. She stood without saying a word, as if trying her best to listen. It was true, I felt more afraid for myself than feeling sad for what happened, and I hated that. It's all because of how weak I am!

You have to tell them.

What? In the shadowy darkness, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was as if those were the very words I didn't want to hear. Fear returned in a most unwelcoming way, the trembling and shivering that slowed me down before came back stronger than ever.

And you're not weak!

The little girl tugged on my clothes as she corrected me, and I turn to look at her. She smiled, the most comforting smile ever.

You've seen what you've been doing, right? It's all you! It's your true self, it's your power!

She continued, her high voice feeling very, very familiar. As she spoke, she grew brighter, and I could feel the shadows disappearing.

"I never expected such a development..." A voice, deep, almost like a machine, spoke out with power. Suddenly, a wave of power pushed away the smoke caused by the Masked man's crash. He stood there, his right gauntlet raised in the air. The Masked man looked unharmed, unscathed. "Did the illusions went out of control...?" He asks to himself, as if the fight he was in is nothing in his eyes.

Illusions? At that word, the memory of what happened with Momma flashed across my mind, the shadows disappeared. It felt bright, as if the word was the \key to the puzzle. Piecing together my thoughts, the girl walked in front of me with a smile, as she slowly faded away. That was when I finally realized who she was. She's me, the small part of my mind, holding me back from going completely mad. In a wild flash of bright light, I felt tugged along by a powerful force. A blink of my eyes, and I'm back in control of my body. My body felt light, full of strength, it was as if the painful, tired self from before was just dream.

"Papa... Big Brother.." I cried out, shutting my eyes to stop the tears. I just know that I had to tell them. "I'm the one who killed Momma." I admitted to my mistake, the feeling of fear no longer there. The shivering, trembling had stopped. I looked on at the Masked man, who was standing there, as if curious of what I was gonna say.

"What are you saying Kiera?" Papa argued back, as if he didn't want to believe it. Big Brother, however, snapped immediately at my words.

"She was the only one who was with her inside! You killed her! She probably can't even defend herself if the attack came from you!" A lot of words were shouted out, hearing them from Big Brother only made that much more painful. He looked angry, panicking over what he heard.

After a last, single drop of tear fell from my eyes, I was ready to fight. I felt nervous, like I'm going on stage for the first time ever, or trying to convince a crowd of people that they're wrong. The heavy shield felt just right in my hand, and I raised it towards the Masked man. "Illusion or no, I won't let you leave here today!" I yelled out, my eyes furrowed for the first time in my life.

"Hahahahahaha. Intriguing..." His voice sounded wise, calm, and most importantly, confident. The wind blew harder as if nature herself got excited from what was gonna happen. Was it his power, I wonder? I watched as the mechanical figure paced his way towards me, with power and stature to his steps. Somehow, I got the strangest feeling that the man behind the Mask was getting excited. With a wave of his hand, another huge force of power blew forth from his body, like a hurricane had formed around him. With his mechanical body standing proud, his arms thrown to the sides, he gave out his words.

"Very well! It's been generations since I've gotten such excitement! Rejoice, mortals! Ambrogio fights once more!"

_Whoever he was, wherever he came from, it was obvious his power is in a league of his own. The realization changed nothing. On that day, I came into a power I never knew I had, and I wasn't going let him leave untouched. He stood with pride, a silent look in his eyes, but the wind blew at his command. His words, though little, brought forth many questions regarding his identity. What did he mean by generations? Just how old is he? Behind the mask is the man who had nature at his side, but I just found my wings, and I didn't intend to go back on my word..._

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><p><strong>Wow, the final scene is happening! Did you find yourself relieved for Kiera as she fought against her own doubts and shadows? Did the words left you cheering at the end? The final fight is about to begin, and it will mark the end of this story! Watch out for the next update!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12: The Valkyrie Is Born

**Author's Note:**

**Sigh, it's been quite the ride writing this story. I had to go research on themes like death, fear, tragedy as well as learning more guidelines I should follow in the art of story-writing. Although I'm happy the story is coming to its end, I always look back and think to myself, could I have written that much more?**

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: The Valkryie Is Born<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_As soon as the words end, everyone tensed and tightened their grip. Everyone was anticipating what was going to happen next, and for a single second since the man named Ambrogio appeared, there was silence. My fingers gripped harder on the handle of my shield. I knew little of the enemy, so a part of me was hoping for him to make the first move. Keen observation and countering was the name of my game. Was it false confidence he had, or was the fight he put up before really had been something of a joke to him? Whatever it was, I knew that one wrong move could mean my end..._

"Hragh!" Big Brother's voice was the war horn that forced us to move. Charging towards Ambrogio with his twin hammers, he swung them harder and faster than before, his eyes showed me the pain he was feeling, the pain of losing Momma. The turn of events was something I couldn't have predicted. Ambrogio readied his stance, and with his giant, metallic gauntlets, grabbed Big Brother's hammers in their mid-swing, and then crushed them in the palm of his hands.

"W-what!" Big Brother's voice came out involuntarily, and can anyone blame him? Shocked at the sight of his two hammers crushed just like that, he stood unmoving as Ambrogio thrust his knee at him. "Augh!" Big Brother cried out as the blow struck him, flying and crashing into another wall of the house. That made me move.

For some reason, I was still watching. I watched with intent as I observed Ambrogio's movements, which were precise, effective, without a single flaw or waste of energy. In a flash of bright light, Papa as well as Mister Luciano pounced towards Ambrogio. That was when something strange happened. As I closed in on Ambrogio, the wind blew in a different breath, and that was when Papa and Mister Luciano's fists stopped just as they were raised against Ambrogio. I saw them struggling, as they tried to strike the Masked man.

"Kuh.. an illusion?" Papa voiced out in between his struggle, reluctantly, he brought his gauntlet down, even though Ambrogio stood right in front of him. "He disappeared? I didn't even saw him move!" Papa gave out as he got confused.

"Hm, even in my Awakening..." Mister Luciano gave out calmly as if he was carefully analysing the situation. The whole thing felt really freaky, terrifying. Is this the horror of illusionists? How can someone like that be defeated?

At that one moment when his eyes shift to watch the two of them, I launched my attack, throwing my shield at him, thrusting it like before. "Huh!" I gave out sharply as I pushed with as much strength as I could. My body felt light, and the chain of action was surprisingly easy to pull off. Screaming as I jumped at him, the sharp, piercing noise rang through my ears once more. My vision got blurry, and the man named Ambrogio seemed to dissolve into the scenery. Difficult as it was to believe, I blinked my eyes on reflex, pushing harder with the shield.

Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering drowned out the noise, and the Masked man faded back into sight. "Yiah!" Freed from whatever he was trying to pull, I resumed my attack. The eyes under his long mask widened as I slammed the edge of the shield right into him. Quick as he was, he could only raise his right gauntlet up once more, to block my attack.

"Impossible, you broke my illusion?" He gave out his words calmly, his tone slightly surprised. Whether it was on purpose or not, as he said those words, he had his left gauntlet raised, sending it down to knock the shield out of his way. As my shield struck the ground, his right gauntlet was already up and flying towards me. The next thing I did felt completely automatic, something my body thought of in a split second. Using the end of the shield that was touching the ground, I launched myself into the air, barely dodging the ball of metal coming straight at me. Vaulting over him, using the momentum of my body and a tap on his shoulders with my feet, I swung my shield over him in a giant circle, slamming it onto his back, putting as much strength as I could into the swing. The resulting impact sent him flying back a few feet, towards the house.

However, it wasn't long before he recovered from the strike in mid air, and landed on his feet, skidding against the stone-floor. In a single, fluid motion, he tossed his robes to the side as he readied himself. A few steps away, I saw a bright flash of light coming from Mister Luciano's ring. "Luciano?" I hear Papa ask out softly, like he was whispering. There was a blank look in his eyes.

"Hold on, I'm trying something..." Mister Luciano replied as his ring glowed even brighter. As I watched Ambrogio's movements, I realized he was carefully observing what Mister Luciano was doing. A second later, he leapt into action, towards the two of them. "I got it! It's broken!" A blink of his eyes, and light returned to Mister Luciano and Papa's eyes. However, as soon as it did, Ambrogio appeared by their side, and struck them in the stomach with his gauntlets.

"Ugh!" The two of cried out in pain after getting struck while they were defenseless. I watched as he tossed the two of them away, sending them crashing into the side-walk as well as the stone-walls.

"It seems there are much more mysteries to the Awakening than I thought.." As he stood, he gave out his sharp observation calmly. I was still surprised at how fast he moved, and as I charged towards him again, the noise returned, my vision blurred again. This time however, the sound of shattering glass came immediately after, pushing the feeling away almost instantly.

My mind cleared once more, I charged as Ambrogio got surprised once again, letting his guard down for that one second. It was clear to me what that sensation was, it was his illusions taking effect. And I seem to be immune to it now. My eyes locked on him, I could see his every move. They felt slower than before. Throwing my shield at him as strong as I could, I barely dodged all his attacks while throwing counter attacks of my own.

Another strike came for me, and I twist my body to strafe out of the way, and at the same time, I swing my shield in another giant arc. "Crack!" The loud sound boomed forth as I struck his left gauntlet. Dodging down, I thrust the shield again, and as it struck his armor, I leaned back before bringing the giant piece of metal down at him, smashing into his right gauntlet once more as he raised it up to block my attack.

_With every strike, memories filled my mind. Every time the illusions muddled with my thoughts and blurred my vision, they were accompanied by the shatter of glass and their eventual banishment. With a light feel to my body, I fought with speed I never knew I had. With strength, I swung my shield like a wrecking ball, smashing into the man named Ambrogio. In fact, as we fought, I felt like I was getting stronger, faster. It wasn't long before the Masked man took a more defensive stance. After a series of clashes and attacks, he distanced himself from me, as if he was afraid._

"How very compelling. Your statistics are off the charts.." Even in his state, when he's being pushed back, he could still calmly give out his observation. He looked at me with cold, curious eyes, dusting the sand off his robes. It made me uncertain. Wass he stronger than this? Or Was it a bluff he's trying to pull? "Girl, tell me. How did you achieve such power?" He asks out, in a genuinely sincere tone. I was left there confused. How was I supposed to react to his words?

Suddenly, I burst into anger. "I don't have to tell you anything!" I yelled out, my attacks starting anew. At the time, it really felt like my body was moving on its own, my mind so filled with anger and regret, as my friends' faces, as well as Momma's, kept flashing through my mind. For a while, Ambrogio even stopped attack, taking and blocking the full brunt of my attacks. It was like he was allowing me to vent my anger out at him. And that made me feel even worse.

Another strike to his gauntlets, and we distanced ourselves once more. Swept by what I was feeling, I uncontrollably blurt out my thoughts. "Why?" I cried out, confused and angry. "Why did you do this? Made me kill my friends, kill Momma!" I whined out as I landed on the ground, shield in hand.

He stared at me through the mask with cold, lifeless eyes. "You're quite the selfish girl." He announced his observation to me. At this point, I noticed Papa and Mister Luciano standing up from the rubble. "Equivalent exchange, you answer my question, and I'll answer yours." He declared, standing still like a statue. I stared at him, my eyes widened as I wondered what to do next. Can I take his words seriously? What if the reason for all those deaths disappears with him today?

"I.. I don't really know how it happened.." To my surprise, I started explaining to him. With my shield raised, I continue my words. "When I saw my friends die, when I struck down Momma.. It felt so painful.." I gave out the words the best I could, the images of what happened still fresh in my mind. The warm feeling of blood can still be felt in my touch. "After the pain, everything just felt... easier.."

"I see, death acting as a stimuli, a key to unlocking the potential within, fascinating!" He exclaimed with excitement in his tone. As his words end, I leaped him again. As before, he raised his gauntlet to block my strike. Immediately after, he jumped back away from me. "Using every opportunity, impressive." He commented under his long, old mask. It felt strange, like he wasn't even focusing on the fight anymore. And that made me so much more wary.

"Your mother was a knowledgable woman. Perhaps the most knowledgable woman of this time." His voice boomed from underneath the mask, calm and cold. At that moment everything stopped, and it felt like everyone's eyes fell on the man named Ambrogio. "With what she knew, she could tip the the balance of power in the world with mere words." I was left stunned as I heard what he said. It made little sense. "Her death was decided, there was no choice." His words finally stopped, leaving me shocked. That was when I realized Big Brother standing there listening as well.

"As for the Possession shot, as with everything else I do, it's just been one, big experiment..." His lack of explanation left me wondering. Just how cruel is this man?

"So, you just had Neil and Viela killed because of some stupid thing you're trying out?" I stared at him with eyes of disbelief.

"Need I remind you, you were the one that sank the blade into their flesh?" He said it out like it was the most normal thing in the world. I stood with a wrenching feeling within my body. It was unbearable. "The path leading to the completion of my mission was unexpected, however. I came to this city with no clues, no directions.." He recalled his time as if it was the most amusing story ever. "Probability played it's part. I would've never been able to kill your mother had I not saw you outside that shop the other day." Each word stabbed into my heart like a sharp piece of glass.

"You had been my thrall ever since..." The voice came from behind the Mask, proud and amused.

_At that moment, as realization hit me, I lost myself to my emotions once more. His words brought forth a deep, dark horror. It was because we wanted to get gifts for Momma, did Ambrogio managed to find her. It was because of me stepping out of the shop that one time, did he managed to implant the illusion inside me. At the end of the day, it was all our fault. The thought did run through my mind, but I never wanted to believe it. It was Big Brother's idea to get the gifts, so in the end, it was all.. his.. fault.. _

"N-no way.." Big Brother's voice brought me back from the state of shock I was in. It was just so difficult to accept it when the explanation's given to me, leaving me with widened eyes, frozen at where I stood. I watched the Masked man as he raised the giant cross with his left gauntlet, and he stood with a stance I hadn't seen before. "No matter, data assessment, complete." He announced, and a second later, to my surprise, he charged towards me with inhuman speed. So fast it looked like he disappeared and reappeared right beside me.

"Wha?" I cried out in surprise, my senses returning to the fight. Dodging back, I swung my shield to smash into him again. For some reason, I kept focusing on his right gauntlet, which I had been striking at countless times before. But not more than you hits later did he swing his cross at me at inhuman speed.

"Crank!" My shield went flying soon after, knocked right out of my hand. The sound was loud and painful, as it slidded across the stone-floors.

Before I could recover, his right gauntlet wrapped itself around my throat, pulling me off my feet. I looked at his towering figure as the trembling returned to my body, but this time, not from fear, but from the pain of his cold, metallic fingers digging into my flesh. I could hear soft, cracking sounds as it felt like a bit more strength and my throat would be crushed. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. I could feel each beat of my heart, each jolt of my pulse. I was left hanging as I think back on what happened. I felt powerless once more, and began doubting my power. I only felt more afraid as I stared into the cold eyes behind the Mask.

"Are you afraid? Why?" He asks out in the most disturbing, intimidating tone I've ever heard, as he pulled me up and stared back into my eyes. "Understand that this is war, and there are no rules in war. You should've been prepared for this very moment ever since you raised that shield against me." He stood with grace and power once more, his robes flowing in the wind.

"Kiera!" In between the sound of my heart-beat, my pulse and my breathing, I heard Papa's voice yelling for me. In my mind, I imagined him rushing to save me. But, I knew he would be too late, as Ambrogio's cold, metal fingers crushed into my throat even harder than before.

"Crack!"

The sound was loud, catching my attention. Soon after, the grip was released. I watched as a crack appeared on Ambrogio's right gauntlet, the spot where I kept striking, and it snaked its way across the metal, spreading throughout his whole armor. Every piece of his armor creaked and broke. The sight was almost unbelievable. With each loud sound, each piece of his armor breaking, he took a step back, perplexed over what was happening. "My armor!" He roared out in shock, the voice booming from beneath his mask. "You did this! Impossible!" He roared out once more, his calm voice replaced with one of loud, emotional outbursts.

As he got distracted, I ran to my shield, equipping it, and jumped towards him once more. With a single, giant swing, I brought the gigantic piece of metal that was my family shield, down smashing into his right gauntlet. The huge piece of metal shattered into a million pieces, exploding from the impact.

"Argh!" That was when Ambrogio did something I never expected to hear. He roared in pain, as if he had never felt pain in a long, long time.

The next thing I saw was perhaps the most disturbing sight I've ever seen. In place of his hand, was dark, swirling mass of veins and skin. It looked dried to the edge, barely resembling the shape of a hand. The bone seemed unnatural, twitching with each pulse. As I looked at it, I could feel its throbbing, as if the hand was in pain.

Everything next happened so quickly, I could barely follow with my eyes. "Get him, now!" I heard Mister Luciano giving out his orders, yelling at the top of his voice. Then, I was pulled away, tugged by a pair of hands. I turned around to see Papa doing his best to carry me away from Ambrogio. The Masked man was left roaring out in pain, stumbling back on his feet. A million shots were fired, ringing through my ears, as the men and women open fired at the enemy. I watched as the rain of bullets struck the dark, shadowy hand, piercing through the skin, but no blood dripped out of the wounds.

His movements frantic, he threw his arm in an arc, and a wave of force pushed the members away. Screamng out, Ambrogio struggled leaping off into the rooftops. Mister Luciano and his men left chasing, leaving the three of us here, our mind tired, broken over what had happened...

_I remember, sitting there, shocked, surprised, miserable over what happened. The calm, salty wind began to blow again, and the cool feeling washed itself through my hair. I waited, for an answer to come to my mind, something I should do. Yet, hours passed, and I find myself unmoving. I turn to look at Big Brother, and a spiteful scowl appeared on his face as he saw my eyes. The life I had before felt like a dream, my bubbly past self nothing but a memory. It didn't feel like a victory._

_Momma, as well as my friends, dead by my hand. The love between me and Big Brother broken. On that day, the Valkyrie was born, but the costs was almost too much to bear._

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><p><strong>The end of this chapter, and the end of the climax for this story. I'm happy that I've written this far. A question, does my way of writing annoy you sometimes? If it does, please tell it to me in your reviews! Next up, the final chapter, and the conclusion to this story...<strong>


	13. Chapter 13: Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

**Yes, my story is coming on with it's last chapter, although the story is nothing to be happy about. I kinda wish I didn't write it, that I didn't give Kiera such a tragic back-story. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapters! I certainly had fun writing them!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: Aftermath<strong>

**Inner Feelings.**

_Wind blowing hard against my robes, we stood in front of the door that will lead us to the final rite that had to be performed. As I followed behind Papa and Big Brother, whose faces were hidden behind the black robes, heavy drops of rain crashed against mine. It felt slow, unreal. The sky cried as if in sympathy of our loss. Thunder boomed as lightning cracked the skies, but all the sound, all the lights, disappeared as soon as the heavy doors of the church closed behind us._

Passed the doors and into the shadowy halls of the church, lights flickered from a number of candles lit across the room, as far as my eyes could see. The lights danced slowly to the tune coming from deep within the halls, bells rang softly as the songs were sung in a mix of voices, gentle and calming. With each step through the hall, the songs got louder and louder. All the while, my face stayed the same, neutral. My robes swished from side to side as we walked, each moment felt longer than a day.

I didn't know why I was feeling so slow, so listless. Eventually, my eyes went to Big Brother, and saw him walking with the same, neutral look, with the exception of furrowed brows. He looked annoyed.

"Ah!" I cried out as I tripped on a small crevice in the stone-floor. Kicking into my long, black robes, I pushed into Big Brother by accident. Before I could react, Big Brother pushed me away, falling on the floor in the church.

"Get up." Big Brother yelled at me as he saw me fall on the floor. Ever since yesterday, Big Brother's changed, I still haven't seen him smile.

"Fionn!" Papa roared out in anger, his yellow hair glowed as they appeared from the dark robes. Even then, Big Brother's face remained the same. Helping me up, I could see hopelessness in Papa's eyes, before they returned to the same listless look Big Brother had.

"We're gonna be late." He declared, before resuming his steps. I watched as Big Brother didn't cared for me like before, and it was difficult. But deep down I knew why he was acting like that, so I couldn't blame him.

"C'mon, we promised to be there on time, and we De Lucas always go by our word." Papa comforted me the best he could, pushing my shoulders forward, before we continued our steps. That sentence sent a wave of thoughts through my mind. Particularly because of how true it was. Through the sound and light, my feelings seemed to drown out and disappear.

_We entered to a hall of faces, all of them facing towards the one who slept in the glow of the light. That was where Momma's coffin was placed. We took our seats, and I realized there were people present, those of which I've never met before. It made me wonder how Momma got to know them. Everyone looked sad, listless, some of them were even crying in silence. But I couldn't cry anymore. The tears felt out of place..._

We watched on with silence as candles burned on, the fire flickering, dancing around Momma's coffin. Songs and prayers were sung, candles were given out for us to hold, lighting up the halls of the church. I was told that this act was to surround Momma in a sea of light, ensuring her a safe trip to the beyond. It was a calm, strangely relaxing moment, the whole phase feeling like a dream. As the flame flickered in my hands, I stared at Momma's coffin, and began to think on what Papa said. The words that sparked a wave of emotions within me.

Our word binds us, we always go by our words.

I remember the time before, when he would always remind us about that code. About how lying to others, breaking your promises, can often be the worst thing one can do to another. Thinking back, I remember the few days before, when everything was so normal. How Big Brother and I got through each day looking forward to the next. I would skip around, always with a smile on my face. As I stood in the church, however, it felt like the most difficult thing in the world.

I remember waking up early, to give myself a chance to show off all the cooking I've learned over the past year. I could still see the smile on Big Brother's face as he chomped down on the plate of scrambled eggs I whipped up.

That's right, we promised to go home straight away that day. A promise we apparently broke.

Then the ritual moved on to the absolution, where Momma's coffin was cleansed by both song and holy water. The priest then began reciting the words needed, while we watched in silent as was our role. As everything was happening, I began to think back on how much I've changed over the short span of two days. I still don't understand what happened exactly. Ambrogio's words rang through the depths of my mind...

Death as a stimuli, unlocking the potential within.

Death of my friends? Momma? My body felt different ever since, stronger, faster. When I fought, I knew exactly where to strike, where to dodge. I got the urge to smash the skull of my enemies, and how to efficiently carry it out. Sometimes, it scares me, how easy it was to kill. Was it what they called instincts? The memories of my time in school felt like a dream, those times when the other students would bully me, and Big Brother would come to my rescue. Somehow, I don't think my time at school will stay the same as before.

Without reason, my eyes turned to look at Big Brother, and I saw how lifeless his eyes were, as they stared hard at Momma's coffin. I remember how he suggested getting gifts for Momma. It was a simple, forgettable lie. Pushed by a reason we thought of goodwill, who could have ever imagined we would be punished for it, what the one choice would lead to.

A part of me kept screaming out, crying for me to follow. It was his fault, the voice cried out. He wanted to get those stupid gifts! If we just went home straight after school like we promised, Ambrogio wouldn't have found me. He wouldn't have found out where Momma was, he wouldn't have implanted that fiendish spell over me, putting the illusion over my eyes. I could feel a seething, lingering hatred growing within me. And it scared me.

And yet, another voice reasoned against it. It told me how painful it must be for him right now, and I felt tears coming to my eyes as I tried to think of how Big Brother was coping with it.

_Next thing I knew, I was outside, rain pelting against my robes and my skin, as I followed Momma's coffin to the burial ground. Contemplating what happened in the last few days, I felt like a piece of driftwood, washed along by the monotonous feel of the funeral. The whole thing just felt surreal, unbelievable. Or maybe I just found it difficult to accept what was happening before my eyes. Lightning kept flashing across the skies, the rain never stopped, but it never went so far for us to cancel the funeral. I just kept watching, as if that was all I could do..._

Time passed, and soon, the ceremony came to an end, Momma's coffin lowered to the ground and buried. After much thought, difficult as it was, I came to accept what had happened. My mind decided that it was a lesson learned, the cost of breaking our word. I stood there, my black robes hanging, wet from the rain that had passed, as I stared at a particular puddle on the ground. I said I accepted it, but I never said it was easy. I felt like just standing there, never moving from that spot, forgetting every trouble I ever had.

"Hey!" A voice called out. Who it was directed to, I didn't know. I just assumed it was one of the many people walking passed me, leaving the area.

"Hey! You there, with the shiny hair!" The voice called out once more. It was a boy's voice, and I could hear footsteps as they pressed against the mud towards me. Squish. Squish. Squish. It was difficult, like it took all the energy I had, just to look up from the puddle, but I felt like letting myself get distracted. "Hey! He-" The boy cried out once more, and as I shifted my eyes, water from the puddle splashed all around.

"Whoa!" His voice changed to a desperate one, as he struggled before falling face first into the puddle.

"Splash!"

Realizing what happened, he quickly stumbled up to his feet, as if trying to hide what happened. His light, brown hair a mess, he quickly pushed the mud away from his face, revealing bright, blue eyes. Somehow, looking at him made me feel relaxed, calming my thoughts. Soon, a smile appeared on my face.

"Ha ha ha ha!" I can't help but laugh as I watched him climb back up, ignoring what happened to him. Immediately, I realized how inappropriate laughter was for the situation, so I pushed the feeling away, but the smile couldn't disappear no matter how hard I tried.

"Ew, I got mud on my face!" He whined out, doing his best to clean the mud off. That was when he saw my smile, and his blue eyes throw themselves wide open in between the brown smudges left on his face. "There's that smile." He exclaimed with a smile, his eyes calming down. "You wanna cry, you cry. If you don't, then smile. There's no point keeping it all inside." He said to me as his eyes fell to the same puddle I was staring at.

"I know... your Mum died, but I don't think she would've wanted you to stay sad about it. Now you have to smile, for your sake... and hers." He spoke as if he understood what I was feeling. I wanted to say something, to tell him I wasn't sad or anything, that I didn't need his encouragement, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. His words were exactly what I needed.

"Achoo! Oh man, the cold from yesterday's coming back!" He flustered as he gave out a couple more sneezes.

"Amato! Amao Zanna, where are you?" Another familiar voice yelled out a name I never heard before. To my surprise, the boy turned towards the voice. I turn as well, to see Mister Luciano searching for the one he called for.

"Coming, Dad!" The boy called Amato replied with his smile beaming, his spirit never faltering.

"...Thanks." It was the only thing, the only word that I could squeeze out after watching him bounce around with his smile on his face.

"No problem, you looked like you needed to hear some words is all!" He exclaimed loudly as he trotted back to Mister Luciano. The boy left as cheerfully as he came, with a bounce to his steps. I watched on, a certain feeling filling inside me. Refreshed, I felt like I just woken up from a dream, my mind calmly accepted all that happened. A few seconds later, I was walking back to Papa's side, the fog of uncertainty that hindered my actions slowly disappearing from my mind.

Before we left, I turned towards the spot I was, and the boy's face appeared in my mind. I wondered if I would ever meet him again, before turning back, leaving through the cemetery gates.

_And that marked the end of my story. The experience that changed my life forever. The event that robbed Momma away from my family. Sometimes, the feeling returns, warm blood at the touch of my fingertips, the cold metal piercing, carving away the flesh. I don't deny how afraid I was whenever it did, but what else can I do but push it away? After that day, I trained, harder than I ever did before. My personality matured. Through the pain, I learned the true meaning of the code, the code of my family._

"_Our word binds us, we always go by our words."_

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><p><strong>Well that certainly took a while to write! I'm not entirely sure if I nailed the meaning down correctly... Other than that, it's the end of this side-story! A painful lesson that changed Kiera, and made her stronger! Do you guys like the story as a whole? Next time, take a minute or two to think to yourself how much your word is worth!<strong>


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